Improved bonding of partially osteomyelitic bone to titanium pins owing to biomimetic coating of apatite.

Increased fixation strength of the bone-pin interface is important for inhibiting pin loosening after external fixation. In a previous study, an apatite (Ap) layer was formed on anodically oxidized titanium (Ti) pins by immersing them in an infusion fluid-based supersaturated calcium phosphate solution at 37 °C for 48 h. In the present study, an Ap layer was also successfully formed using a one-step method at 25 °C for 24 h in an infusion fluid-based supersaturated calcium phosphate solution, which is clinically useful due to the immersion temperature [corrected]. After percutaneous implantation in a proximal tibial metaphysis for four weeks in rabbits (n = 20), the Ti pin coated with the Ap layer showed significantly increased extraction torque compared with that of an uncoated Ti screw even with partial osteomyelitis present, owing to dense bone formation on the Ap layer in the cortical and medullary cavity regions. When the infection status was changed from "no osteomyelitis" to "partial osteomyelitis," the extraction torque in the Ap group with "partial osteomyelitis" was almost identical to that for "no osteomyelitis" cases. These results suggest that the Ap layer formed by the room temperature process could effectively improve the fixation strength of the Ti pin for external fixation clinically even with partial osteomyelitis present.