Surface Corrosion of Nanoscaled Hydroxyapatite During an In Vivo Experiment

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is widely used as a bioactive ceramics as it forms a chemical bond with bone. However, the drawback to using this material is its inferior mechanical properties. In this research, surface corrosion and disintegration of nanoscaled HA in a dog were studied, and the mechanism by which phase-pure HA dissolved in vivo was investigated. Biological properties of HA in vivo are affected by the grain-boundary dissolution followed by a surface corrosion and microstructural disintegration. This kind of dissolution process, apparently evidenced at the grain boundary, causes particle generation, which indicates that both long-term bone in-growth and mechanical properties can dramatically deteriorate. Implant dissolution by osteoclasts in vivo is also observed on the surface of hydroxyapatite. Implant surface showed an aggressive corrosion by an osteoclast resorption. Severe and deeper dissolution underwent close to osteoclast resulting in formation of smaller and more round particle shape.