ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomaterials
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1675881
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Biomaterials and (Bio)fabrication for Medical ImplantsView all 4 articles
Calciumhydroxyapatite Coating for Orthopaedic Implants – Evaluation of Osseointegrative and Antibacterial Properties in Vivo
Provisionally accepted
- Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Purpose: This study evaluates the osseointegrative and antibacterial properties of Calciumhydroxyapatite coated titanium implants in comparison to uncoated implants in a rabbit model. Methods: Coated and uncoated implants were implanted in to both femura of 19 New Zealand White Rabbits. After retrieval, osseointegrative properties were compared by quantification of the bone implant contact and the proportion of unmineralized bone around the implants. Antibacterial properties were assessed with a Staphylococcus aureus infection model. Bacterial burden on and around the implants as well as the hosts immunoreaction was quantified by neutrophile percentage in the tissue and the effusion from the affected knees. Results: Bone implant contact was significantly higher (p<0.000) around the coated implants. The proportion of Osteoid around the uncoated implants was significantly higher (p=0.001). The antibacterial effect of the coated implants was not significant. However, presence of bacteria on the implants was seen in only 20% of the coated but 75% of the uncoated implants. The overall infection score was significantly lower (p=0.042)indicated lower infection activity in the joints with for the coated implants. Conclusion: Calciumhydroxyapatite is promising coating for titanium implants. This animal study demonstrated improved osseointegrative properties and evidence for topical antibacterial effects.
Keywords: infect model, Antibacterial implant coating, Bone implant contact, Implant osseointegration, periprosthetic infection
Received: 29 Jul 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Boelch, Ewlad, Meininger, Ludwig, Vogt, Groll and Rudert. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sebastian Boelch, sebastian.hertzberg-boelch@uni-wuerzburg.de
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