The effects of bone implants' coating mechanical properties on osseointegration: In vivo, in vitro, and histological investigations.

The main goal of this work was to investigate the effects of implants coatings' mechanical properties and morphology on the osseointegration. In order to produce different mechanical properties of coatings, two thermal spray techniques, high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and air plasma spray (APS) were employed. Titanium pins were coated and implanted into the distal femurs and proximal tibias of fifteen New Zealand white rabbits, equally distributed in three study groups, and a total of 20 pins implanted in each group. Eight weeks after insertion, the rabbits were euthanized and the femur samples were taken out for biomechanical tests and tibia samples for histological evaluations of osseointegration. Scanning electron microscopy results showed enhanced density and a better morphology of HVOF coatings, compared to APS samples, and X-ray diffraction characterized an enhanced crystallinity of HVOF coatings. Nanoindentation tests revealed greater hardness and elastic modulus of HVOF coatings, whereas greater tensile residual stress and more pronounced creep was observed for APS coatings. Neither in biomechanical tests, nor in the histological analyses, a significant difference was observed between HVOF and APS coated samples (p > 0.05, and p > 0.05, respectively). The lack of significant difference between the HVOF and APS coated implants' osseointegration rejected our hypothesis to have a more enhanced osseointegration due to a better morphology, as well as stronger mechanical properties of HA coatings. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 2679-2691, 2018.