Abstract
Technical development for an efficient coating of bioactive materials improves the characteristics of a fully functional implant. The aim of this study was to investigate the osteoinductive effect of a newly developed hydroxyapatite (HA)โcoating technique using aerosol deposition without postโheat treatment [room temperature (RT) group] on the titanium (Ti) dental implant in vitro and in vivo, compared with that of HA coating with postโheat treatment (HTโ400 group) or machined surface (control group). Cell proliferation or attachment on the HAโcoated Ti surface was assessed using tetrazolium salt, WSTโ8 or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Human osteoblasts (HOB) on RT group were well attached and grew alike in the control or HTโ400 group. The alkaline phosphatase activity of HOB cultured on RT and HTโ400 group was significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). Evaluation by SEM, TEM, and XRD demonstrated that aerosol deposition facilitated HA particles to form a dense and uniform HA layer in the RT group despite no postโheating. In a rabbit tibia model (n = 3), the ratios of bone implant contact and bone area in the RT group (49.88%, 86.05%) were greater than in the HTโ400 group (38.82%, 77.34%) or the control (28.31%, 73.86%). The finding of this study showed that the HA coating using aerosol deposition without postโheat treatment has a good biocompatibility, and provide a promoting strategy to enhance osseointegration in the application of the dental implant. ยฉ 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2010.