Comparative evaluation of osseointegration of new percutaneous implants made of Ti Grade 4 ultrafine‑grained alloy

Introduction It has been shown that titanium implants with a structured surface provide an increased rate of osseointegration what makes their application quite promising.

The purpose of this work was to conduct a comparative evaluation of the efficiency of osseointegration of new percutaneous implants for prosthetics made of ultrafine-grained Ti Grade 4 alloy.

Materials and methods The study was carried out on 12 male rabbits of the Soviet Chinchilla breed. Six rabbits of the control group had implants made of Ti6Al4V powder using selective laser sintering technology that were osseointegrated into the tibia, 6 rabbits of the experimental group had implants made of Ti Grade 4 by equal channel angular pressing. The formation of the "bone-implant" block was examined 26 weeks after the implantation.

Results Histologically, after 26 weeks of the experiment, porous changes, enlargement of the Haversian canals, and pronounced osteoclastic resorption were not detected in the animals of the experimental group throughout the stump in the compact plate. Around the implant, a bony case repeating the bone shape was formed, represented by lamellar bone tissue. Using X-ray electron probe microanalysis, it was found that in the substrate formed on the surface of the implant in rabbits of the experimental group, there was significantly more calcium in all areas over the implant relative to the animals of the control group. In the control group, relative to the experimental group, an increased level of C-reactive protein in blood serum was retained longer. Complications and significant clinical and laboratory abnormalities were not found in both groups during the entire experiment.

Discussion Our data are consistent with the results of other experimental studies, which unambiguously noted that titanium implants with a structured surface show increased osseointegration characteristics in comparative studies relative to implants without modification of the structure of the material of the threaded surface. The absence of complications and undesirable reactions of the animal organism also indicates the acceptable safety of the tested products.

Conclusion Osseointegration of a percutaneous implant that has a mixed nanocrystalline and ultrafine-grained structure was more effective than the reference implant. This makes the use of such implant promising for solving clinical problems in prosthetics.

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