In vitro and in vivo mechanical evaluations of plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium implants: the effect of coating characteristics.
This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of coating characteristics on the mechanical strengths of the plasma-sprayed HA-coated Ti-6Al-4V implant system both in vitro and in vivo. Two types of HA coatings (HACs) with quite different microstructures, concentrations of impurity-phases, and indices-of-crystallinity were used. In vitro testings were done by measuring the bonding-strength at the Ti-6Al-4V-HAC interface, with HACs that had and had not been immersed in a pH-buffered, serum-added simulated body fluid (SBF). The shear-strength at the HAC-bone interface was investigated in a canine transcortical femoral model after 12 and 24 weeks of implantation. The results showed a bonding degradation of approximately 32% or higher of the original strength after 4 weeks of immersion in SBF, and this predominantly depended on the constructed microstructure of the HACs. After the push-out measurements, it was demonstrated that the HACs with higher bonding-strength in vitro would correspondingly result in significantly higher shear-strength at each implant period in vivo. Nevertheless, there were no substantial histological variations between the two types of HACs evaluated. The most important point elucidated in this study was that, among coating characteristics, the microstructure was the key factor in influencing the mechanical stability of the HACs both in vitro and in vivo. As a consequence, a denser HAC was needed to ensure mechanical stability at both interfaces.
Yang
C Y
CY
Department of Orthopaedics, National Cheng Kung University Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Lin
R M
RM
Wang
B C
BC
Lee
T M
TM
Chang
E
E
Hang
Y S
YS
Chen
P Q
PQ
D000268:Adhesiveness; D000497:Alloys; D000818:Animals; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry; D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004285:Dogs; D006245:Hardness Tests; D006882:Hydroxyapatites / Q000737:chemistry*; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D000497:Alloys; D006882:Hydroxyapatites; C031462:titanium alloy (TiAl6V4); D014025:Titanium