In vivo-study of the osseous integration of RGD coated and uncoated metallic implants.

After the implantation of cementless endoprostheses early osseous integration is pivotal for implant success. Numerous in vitro studies demonstrate that RGD-peptide coating enhances the interaction between the surface of metallic implants and osteoblast like cells. This study was aimed to examine, whether or not RGD-peptide coating can improve osseous integration of metallic implants in vivo in an adult sheep model. For the early postoperative phase (4 weeks) enhanced osseous integration of RGD coated implants was observed in terms of a 68% increase in the interface shear strength for a press-fit implantation model. In contrast, no differences between RGD coated and non-coated implants could be detected after gap model fixation. Irrespective of the implantation model no differences between RGD coated and non-coated implants could be observed after 12 weeks.