Osseointegration of Ti6Al4V alloy implants coated with titanium nitride by a new methodG. Sovak, BSc, MSc, Student; and A. Weiss, DSc, Senior LecturerDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine I. Gotman, DSc, Senior Research Associate Faculty of Materials Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, PO Box 9649, Haifa 31096, Israel. Correspondence should be sent to Dr A. Weiss. Coating titanium alloy implants with titanium nitride (TiN) by the method of Powder Immersion Reaction Assisted Coating (PIRAC) produces a stable layer on their surface. We have examined the ability of the new TiN coating to undergo osseointegration. We implanted TiN-coated and uncoated Ti6Al4V alloy pins into the femora of six-month-old female Wistar rats. SEM after two months showed a bone collar around both TiN-coated and uncoated implants. Morphometrical analysis revealed no significant differences between the percentage of the implant-bone contact and the area and volume of the bone around TiN-coated compared with uncoated implants. Electron-probe microanalysis indicated the presence of calcium and phosphorus at the implant-bone interface. Mineralisation around the implants was also confirmed by labelling with oxytetracycline. Strong activity of alkaline phosphatase and weak activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase were shown histochemically. Very few macrophages were detected by the non-specific esterase reaction at the site of implantation. Our findings indicate good biocompatibility and bone-bonding properties of the new PIRAC TiN coatings which are comparable to those of uncoated Ti6Al4V alloy implants.
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