Biocompatibility of antibacterial Ti-Cu sintered alloy: in vivo bone response

Ti-10Cu sintered alloy has shown very strong in vitro and in vivo antibacterial property and in vitro cell compatibility. In this paper, Ti-10Cu implant (Ti-Cu group) and commercial pure Ti implant (cp-Ti group) were implanted in rabbit femurs to investigate in vivo bone response to the Ti-10Cu alloy. X-ray photo, fluorescent microscopy, routine pathological examination and immunohistochemistry have been used to analyze bone growth, mineral apposition rate (MAR), bone implant contact (BIC), BMP-2 expression and TGF-β1 expression. In both Ti-Cu and cp-Ti groups, new bone tissue was found at bone/implant interfaces 4 weeks postimplantation and completely filled the interfaces gap bone 12 weeks postimplantation. A significant MOD value in BMP-2 expression was observed at week 1 and week 4 in the Ti-Cu group with lower values of week 2 and 3 in both groups, which indicated strong positive activity. MOD value in TGF-β1 expression decreased with the extension of implantation. However, no difference can be found in MAR, BIC and TGF-β1 expression between the two groups at all intervals. It was deduced that Ti-Cu alloy exhibited as good bone response as cp-Ti. The good bone compatibility suggests that Ti-10Cu alloy might have potential application in orthopedic surgery and dental implant.