Early bone in‐growth ability of alumina ceramic implants loaded with tissue‐engineered bone

To enhance early bonding of an alumina ceramic implant to bone, we evaluated a method of seeding the implant surface with bone marrow mesenchymal cells that differentiated to osteoblasts and bone matrix prior to implantation. The usefulness of the method was evaluated in Japanese white rabbits. In our study, an alumina ceramic test piece loaded with differentiated osteoblasts and bone matrix by a tissue engineering technique was implanted into rabbit bones. Three weeks after the procedure, evaluation of mechanical bonding and histological examination were performed. Histological examination of the noncell‐loaded implant surfaces showed no bone infiltration into the implant gap. However, the cell‐loaded implant surfaces exhibited new bone infiltration into the implant gap with mechanical bonding. In the mechanical test, the average failure load was 0.60 kgf for the noncell‐loaded side and 1.49 kgf for the cell‐loaded side. Preculturing mesenchymal cells on the surface of the alumina ceramic prior to implantation increased the debonding strength by two and half times. The present findings indicate early bonding between the implant and bone three weeks after the procedure. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res