Effects of zinc-substituted nano-hydroxyapatite coatings on bone integration with implant surfaces

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a zinc-substituted nano-hydroxyapatite(Zn-HA) coating,applied by an electrochemical process,on implant osseointegraton in a rabbit model.Methods:A Zn-HA coating or an HA coating was deposited using an electrochemical process.Surface morphology was examined using field-emission scanning electron microscopy.The crystal structure and chemical composition of the coatings were examined using an X-ray diffractometer(XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR).A total of 78 implants were inserted into femurs and tibias of rabbits.After two,four,and eight weeks,femurs and tibias were retrieved and prepared for histomorphometric evaluation and removal torque(RTQ) tests.Results:Rod-like HA crystals appeared on both implant surfaces.The dimensions of the Zn-HA crystals seemed to be smaller than those of HA.XRD patterns showed that the peaks of both coatings matched well with standard HA patterns.FTIR spectra showed that both coatings consisted of HA crystals.The Zn-HA coating significantly improved the bone area within all threads after four and eight weeks(P<0.05),the bone to implant contact(BIC) at four weeks(P<0.05),and RTQ values after four and eight weeks(P<0.05).Conclusions:The study showed that an electrochemically deposited Zn-HA coating has potential for improving bone integration with an implant surface.

In Situ Variation of Interpenetrating Polymer Network Topology using a Photolabile Connector

A photo-controlled approach is developed to regulate the interpenetrating polymer network(IPN)topology by varying the connecting structure between the first and second networks.The approach is based on multifunctional inimer(Vinyl-o NB-Br)possessing three moieties,i.e.,an acrylate-based double bond for incorporation within a polymer network,a Br group for grafting polymerization to get connectIPN(c-IPN),and an o-nitrobenzyl spacer for photocleaving to convert the c-IPN to disconnected-IPN(d-IPN)with UV light irradiation.Such design allows for finely controlling the connection degree between two networks.A systematic study on the mechanical property of a series of samples with different connection degrees thus can be conducted.The results reveal that decreasing the connecting degree between two networks of IPN made a negligible contribution to materials'mechanical properties.