Novel nano-hydroxyapatite coating of additively manufactured three-dimensional porous implants improves bone ingrowth and initial fixation.

Electron beam melting (EBM) has been used to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) porous Ti-6Al-4V surfaces for acetabular cups in total hip arthroplasty. However, there are radiographic concerns regarding poor implant fixation and bone ingrowth around electron beam melted (EBMed) 3D porous cups. We hypothesize that nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) coating can promote bone ingrowth and thus decrease the occurrence of radiolucent lines around EBMed 3D porous cups. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a novel nHA coating on the biological performance of EBMed 3D porous implants in a beagle transcortical model. Low-porosity (control) and high-porosity 3D porous Ti-6Al-4V implants were manufactured using EBM. Half of the high-porosity implants were coated with nHA without clogging the 3D pores. Implants were inserted into the femoral diaphysis of the beagles. The beagles were euthanized at 4, 8, and 12 weeks postoperatively, and push-out testing was performed. Bone ingrowth was evaluated by histological analysis. Although the increase in porosity alone had no effect on biological behavior, the addition of nHA to high-porosity 3D implants significantly improved early bone fixation and bone ingrowth into the deep region of porous structures compared to low-porosity implants. This is the first report of a novel nHA coating that improved bone ingrowth into the deeper regions of 3D porous implants, which can prevent the occurrence of radiolucent lines around EBMed 3D porous cups.

Newly Developed Biocompatible Material: Dispersible Titanium-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles Suitable for Antibacterial Coating on Intravascular Catheters.

BACKGROUND: Thirteen patients with chlorhexidine-silver sulfadiazine-impregnated catheters have experienced serious anaphylactic shock in Japan. These adverse reactions highlight the lack of commercially available catheters impregnated with strong antibacterial chemical agents. A system should be developed that can control both biocompatibility and antibacterial activity. SUMMARY: Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is biocompatible with bone and skin tissues. To provide antibacterial activity by using an external physical stimulus, titanium (Ti) ions were doped into the HAp structure. Highly dispersible, Ti-doped HAp (Ti-HAp) nanoparticles suitable as a coating material were developed. In 3 kinds of Ti-HAp [Ti/(Ca + Ti) = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2], the Ti content in the HAp was approximately 70% of that used in the Ti-HAp preparation, as determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). ICP-AES and X-ray diffraction showed Ti ions were well substituted into the HAp lattice. The nanoparticles were almost uniformly coated on a polyethylene (PE) sheet in a near-monolayer with a surface coverage ratio >95%. The antibacterial activity of the Ti-HAp nanoparticles containing 7.3% Ti ions and coating the sheet was evaluated by calculating the survival ratio of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the coated sheet after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The Ti-HAp-coated sheet showed a 50% decrease in the number of P. aeruginosa compared with that on an uncoated control PE sheet after UV irradiation for 30 s. Key Messages: A system of biocompatibility and antibacterial activity with an on/off switch controlled by external UV stimulation was developed. The system is expected to be applicable in long-term implanted intravascular catheters.

Effect of hydroxyapatite surface morphology on cell adhesion.

We obtained hydroxyapatite (HAp) materials as a block by mixing HAp nanoparticles and polymer, and then calcining the mixtures. The surface morphology of the HAp materials was tuned by varying heat treatment conditions. After calcining the mixtures at 1200 or 800°C for 4h, the surface morphology of the HAp materials was flat or convexo-concave, respectively. The flat surface morphology, which showed micrometer-ordered grain boundaries, was formed by the aggregation of HAp nanoparticles. On the other hand, the convexo-concave surface morphology resulted from the agglomeration of HAp nanoparticles after heat treatment at 800°C for 4h with nanometer-ordered particle size. We tested cell adhesion to HAp materials with flat or convexo-concave surface morphology and found that cells adhered well to the flat HAp materials but not to the convexo-concave HAp materials. This technique for selectively preparing HAp materials with flat or convexo-concave surface morphology was very easy because we merely mixed commercial HAp nanoparticles with polymer and then calcined the mixtures. As a result, the heat treatment temperature affected the surface morphology of our HAp materials, and their surface morphologies contributed to cell adhesion independently of other material properties.

Preparation and Characterizations of Dispersible Fluorinated Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles with Weak Antibacterial Activity.

To develop a nanoscaled coating material for medical devices possessing weak antibacterial activity, dispersible and crystalline fluorinated hydroxyapatite (F-HAp) nanoparticles were prepared using antisintering agent to avoid calcination-induced sintering. The product was identical to fluorapatite, as determined by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The primary particles generally showed rod-shaped morphology with a length of 367 ± 67 nm and a width of 223 ± 21 nm measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dispersed average particle size (313 ± 51 nm) in ethanol analyzed by dynamic light scattering was almost the same as that obtained from the SEM images. In the evaluation of solubility in acidic aqueous solution, F-HAp and original hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles started to dissolve at around pH 3.4 and 4.2, respectively. Thus, the stability of F-HAp in a living body increased compared with original HAp. The antibacterial activity of F-HAp nanoparticles was higher than that of fluoride in sodium fluoride alone or the original HAp nanoparticles. However, it was estimated that the effect of F-HAp was much lower compared with that of silver, one of the popular antibacterial materials. Thus, the dispersed F-HAp nanoparticles possessing weak antimicrobial activity can be useful without severe damage to the living tissue.

Optimization of physiological properties of hydroxyapatite as a vaccine adjuvant.

Various particles such as Alum or silica are known to act as an adjuvant if co-administered with vaccine antigens. Several reports have demonstrated that the adjuvanticity is strongly affected by the physicochemical properties of particles such as the size, shape and surface charge, although the required properties and its relationship to the adjuvanticity are still controversial. Hydroxyapatite particle (HAp) composed of calcium phosphate has been shown to work as adjuvant in mice. However, the properties of HAp required for the adjuvanticity have not been fully characterized yet. In this study, we examined the role of size or shape of HAps in the antibody responses after immunization with antigen. HAps whose diameter ranging between 100 and 400 nm provided significantly higher antibody responses than smaller or larger ones. By comparison between sphere and rod shaped HAps, rod shaped HAps induced stronger inflammasome-dependent IL-1ß production than the sphere shaped ones in vitro. However, sphere- and rod-shaped HAp elicited comparable antibody response in WT mice. Vice versa, Nlrp3(-/-), Asc(-/-) or Caspase1(-/-) mice provided comparable level of antibody responses to HAp adjuvanted vaccination. Collectively, our results demonstrated that the size rather than shape is a more critical property, and IL-1ß production via NLRP3 inflammasome is dispensable for the adjuvanticity of HAps in mice.

Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of calcinated Ag-doped nano-hydroxyapatite with dispersibility.

PURPOSE: Dispersible hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles are very useful for applying a monolayer to implantable medical devices using the nano-coating technique. To improve tolerance to infection on implanted medical devices, silver-doped HAp (Ag-HAp) nanoparticles with dispersiblity and crystallinity were synthesized, avoiding calcination-induced sintering, and evaluated for antibacterial activity. METHODS: The Ca10-xAgx(PO4)6(OH)2 with x = 0 and 0.2 were prepared by wet chemical processing at 100°C. Before calcination at 700°C for 2 h, two kinds of anti-sintering agents, namely a Ca(NO3)2 (Ca salt) and a polyacrylic acid/Ca salt mixture (PAA-Ca), were used. Escherichia coli was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the nanopowder. RESULTS: When PAA-Ca was used as an anti-sintering agent in calcination to prepare the dispersible nanoparticles, strong metallic Ag peaks were observed at 38.1° and 44.3° (2θ) in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile. However, the Ag peak was barely observed when Ca salt was used alone as the anti-sintering agent. Thus, using Ca salt alone was more effective for preparation of dispersible Ag-HAp than PAA-Ca. The particle average size of Ag-HAp with 0.5 mol% of Ag content was found to be 325 ± 70 nm when the formation of large particleaggregations was prevented, as determined by dynamic light scattering instrument. The antibacterial activity of the Ag-HAp nanoparticles possessing 0.5 mol% against E. coli was greater than 90.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Dispersible and crystalline nano Ag-HAp can be obtained by using Ca salt alone as an anti-sintering agent. The nanoparticles showed antibacterial activity.