[The fibronectin binding test: proposal of an experimental model for the evaluation of the biocompatibility of materials of orthopedic interest].

The Authors expose their experience about a new model for testing the biocompatibility of materials of possible use as implants in surgery. This model uses a glycoprotein, Fibronectin (FN) involved in cellular adhesion; FN was purified from human plasma by affinity chromatography on denatured collagen; the protein obtained by this procedure is about 95% pure. The best value of FN binding was found to be on bioglass B5 whereas in the case of Titanium Alloy and B6 an intermediate value was measured. Results may be discussed considering other preliminary results about cell adhesion.