Implant development
Bisphosphonate-containing composite coatings on porous tantalum to enhance bone ingrowth and prevent bone resorption
Project Goals - What are we doing?
Bisphosphonate-containing composite coatings on porous tantalum to enhance bone ingrowth and prevent bone resorption
Project Goals - What are we doing?
Project Goals - What are we doing?
To develop bisphosphonate-containing calcium phosphate coatings on orthopedic implants that could deliver bisphosphonate anti-osteolysis drugs locally and slowly, and to study the effects of surface coatings on bone ingrowth into the implants.
Research Outcomes - What will be achieved?
Instead of focusing on reducing wear rate, we focus on novel coating techniques of locally delivering drugs to achieve early implant-bone integration and to slow down the osteolysis process. The idea is to incorporate bisphosphonate, a potent drug for inhibiting bone resorption, into the structure of metallic orthopedic implants. This new concept of delivering bisphosphonate, once proved effective, could be employed in orthopedic and dental implants in the near future. The new design will significantly drop the health care cost of the country and dramatically improve the quality of life of numerous Canadians.
Background - Why is this research important?
Hip replacement has been established as an effective surgery for many hip joint related diseases such as osteoarthritis. There are approximately 25,000 hip replacement surgeries in Canada each year. Although current hip replacement operations are highly successful in relieving pain and restoring function, two materials-related challenges remain. They are: (i) to accelerate bone healing and achieve early implant fixation, and (ii) to increase the longevity of the implants. A typical total hip replacement consists of a metallic femoral stem (e.g. Ti, CoCr alloy), a CoCr femoral head articulating against a metallic acetabular cup lined with ultrahigh molecular-weight polyethylene. These are biological inert materials that have limited capabilities of conducting new bone growth. On the other hand, extensive wear happens at the articulating surfaces and releases hundreds of millions of wear debris particles into the surrounding tissues, inducing inflammatory response and periprosthetic osteolysis that leads to early implant loosening. The current project represents our recent efforts in finding solutions to these implant specific problems.
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