Abstract
Aims. Coatings for endo-osseous implants have been developed based on phospholipids. Such coatings promote the formation of a very thin superficial layer which is highly enriched with calcium phosphates. Aim of this study is a comparison of such coatings with an hydroxyapatite coating.
Methods. Two phospholipid-based preparations have been compared with a standard hydroxyapatite coating. Preparation S was based on phosphatidyl-serine; preparation C was based on a mixture of phosphatidyl-serine, phosphatidyl-choline and cholesterol. Titanium cylinders wrapped with titanium foam were the metallic substrate for the coatings; they were implanted in the femural canal of New Zealand White rabbits and retrieved after 4, 8 and 26 weeks. A Back Scattered Electron Microscopy analysis followed.
Results. Both phospholipid preparations showed to have no inhibitory action on bone apposition and growth and did not elicit any adverse fibrous reaction. Pictures of bone in-growth into the cavities of the titanium foam were present. A tight apposition between bone and coating was evident only in the comparative group sprayed with hydroxyapatite, but this latter coating was often fragmented and its constituent granules were evident.
Conclusion. Phospholipid-based coatings showed no inhibitory action on bone apposition and growth and did not elicit any adverse fibrous reaction.
The abstracts were prepared by Ms Grazia Gliozzi. Correspondence should be addressed to her at the Italian Orthopaedic Research Society, Laboratory for Pathophysiology, Instituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
