In vivo osseointegration of dental implants with an antimicrobial peptide coating

This study aimed to evaluate the in vivo osseointegration of implants with hydrophobic antimicrobial GL13K-peptide coating in rabbit femoral condyles by micro-CT and histological analysis. Six male Japanese Rabbits (4 months old and weighing 2.5 kg each) were included in this study. Twelve implants (3.75 mm wide, 7 mm long) were randomly distributed in two groups, with six implants in the experimental group coated with GL13K peptide and six implants in the control group without surface coating. Each implant in the test and the control group was randomly implanted in the left or right side of femoral condyles. On one side randomly-selected of the femur, each rabbit received a drill that was left without implant as control for the natural healing of bone. After 3 weeks of healing radiographic evaluation of the implant sites was taken. After 6 weeks of healing, rabbits were sacrificed for evaluation of the short-term osseointegration of the dental implants using digital radiography, micro-CT and histology analysis. To perform evaluation of osseointegration, implant location and group was double blinded for surgeon and histology/radiology researcher. Two rabbits died of wound infection in sites with non-coated implants 2 weeks after surgery. Thus, at least four rabbits per group survived after 6 weeks of healing. The wounds healed without suppuration and inflammation. No implant was loose after 6 weeks of healing. Radiography observations showed good osseointegration after 3 and 6 weeks postoperatively, which proved that the tissues followed a natural healing process. Micro-CT reconstruction and analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in volume of bone around the implant between implants coated with GL13K peptide and implants without coating. Histomorphometric analysis also showed that the mineralized bone area was no statistically different (P > 0.05) between implants coated with GL13K peptide and implants without coating. This study demonstrates that titanium dental implants with an antimicrobial GL13K coating enables in vivo implant osseointegration at similar bone growth rates than gold-standard non-coated dental implants up to 6 weeks of implantation in rabbit femurs.