Effect of sintered silicate-substituted hydroxyapatite on remodelling processes at the bone-implant interface.

Phase pure, sintered granules of hydroxyapatite (HA) and silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) were implanted for 6 and 12 weeks in an ovine model. Samples containing the bone-implant interface were prepared for ultramicrotomy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using an anhydrous sample preparation procedure. The results demonstrate that the morphology of apatite deposits and the sequence of events at the interfaces of bone with pure HA and with Si-HA implants, were different. Organised collagen fibrils were first found at the bone/Si-HA interface after 6 weeks, whereas they were found only after 12 weeks around the pure HA implant. Many more nodular aggregates comprised of plate-like apatite crystallites were observed in the vicinity of Si-HA than around the pure HA after 12 weeks in vivo. These findings suggest that the incorporation of silicate ions into HA promotes processes of bone remodelling at the bone/HA interface. TEM observations suggested that the trabecular bone weaves over the Si-HA and that the collagen fibrils form a mechanical interlock with the Si-HA ceramic implants. High-resolution lattice imaging illustrated apatite crystallites contiguous with the Si-HA ceramic and revealed a direct relationship between the bone mineral and the Si-HA ceramic.