New bioactive bone cement containing nano-sized titania particles

Two types of new bioactive polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-based bone cements containing nano-sized titania (TiO2) particles were prepared and evaluated to assess the effect of TiO2 content on their mechanical properties and osteoconductivity. We prepared two types of bioactive bone cement, ST50c and ST60c. which contained 50 wt% silanized TiO2 and 60 wt% silanized TiO2, respectively. Commercially available PMMA cement (PMMAc) was used as a control. The cements were inserted into rat tibiae and solidified in situ. After 6 and 12 weeks, they were taken out for evaluation of osteoconductivity by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact microradiography (CMR) and Giemsa surface staining. SEM revealed that ST60c and ST50c apposed to bone directly while PMMAc did not. The affinity index of ST60c, was significantly higher than for the other cements at each time interval. The results showed that ST60c was a promising material, but its mechanical strength should be improved before application in prosthesis fixation.