Bone responses to zirconia implants with a thin carbonate‐containing hydroxyapatite coating using a molecular precursor method

Abstract Thin carbonate‐containing hydroxyapatite (CA) films coating partially stabilized zirconia (Y‐TZP) were prepared (CA‐Y‐TZP) to establish a metal‐free implant system. CA was coated using a molecular precursor method. The CA film was deposited on the surface of Y‐TZP using a precursor solution, which was a mixture of a calcium–ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) complex and phosphate compounds. The deposited CA film was characterized by X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy measurements. A focus ion beam system technique revealed that the thickness of the CA film was less than 1.0 µm. Biological evaluations of CA‐Y‐TZP were performed by immersion experiments in simulated body fluid (SBF) and implantation experiments in the tibiae and femoral condyles of rabbits. In the SBF immersion experiment, apatite deposition progressed more on CA‐Y‐TZP at the early stage of immersion than on Y‐TZP without the CA coating. Animal experiments revealed that bone formation on CA‐Y‐TZP was similar with than on Y‐TZP. Histomorphometrical evaluations showed a significantly higher bone‐to‐implant contact ratio and bone mass on CA‐Y‐TZP after implantation into the femoral trabecular bone of rabbits. Therefore, CA‐Y‐TZP appears to be applicable as a metal‐free implant. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 102B: 1277–1288, 2014.