Potential application of a triaxial three-dimensional fabric (3-DF) as an implant

Various three-dimensional fabrics (3-DFs) woven with a triaxial three-dimensional (3A-3D) structure in which the warps, wefts and vertical fibres are three-dimensionally orientated with orthogonal, off-angle, cylindrical or complex fibre alignments using a single long fibre, which may be one of several kinds of fibres, have been developed. The physical strengths and behaviour of these fabrics under different external forces were measured for such stress-strain relationships as compressive, tensile and cyclic bending, compressing torsional and compressive tensile systems to evaluate the effect of the continuous loading caused by living body movements over a long period of time. The 3-DFs led to downward convex ‘J’-shaped curves in stress-strain profiles, because they were markedly flexible at low strain levels, but became rigid as strain increased. In this behaviour they reflected the behaviour of natural cartilage rather than that of conventional artificial biomaterials. There were also some 3-DFs that showed hysteresis loss curves with quite similar mechanical strengths and behaviour to natural intervertebral discs with regard to the compressive-tensile cyclic stress and showed little variation from the first ‘J’-shaped hysteresis profile even after 100,000 deformation cycles. Accordingly, it has been shown that, without a doubt, 3-DFs can be effective implants possessing both design and mechanical biocompatibilities as well as the durability necessary for long-term implantation in the living body. The surface of bioinert linear low-density polyethylene coating on multifilaments of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, a constructional fibre of 3A-3D weaving, was modified by treatment with corona-discharge and spray-coating of unsintered hydroxyapatite powder to impart chemical (surface) compatibility and biological activity, respectively. Since the modified surface of the 3-DF was ascertained to have affinity and activity with simulated body fluid, an orthogonal 3-DF block was implanted in the tibia of a rabbit. Sufficient surrounding tissues entering into the textural space of the 3-DF could be observed at 4 weeks after implantation and the load necessary to break the block away from the bone reached a high value at 8 weeks. These results decisively showed that the 3-DFs could also acquire chemical (surface) and biological biocompatibilities and bonding capacity with bone and soft tissues through modification of the surface of the constructional fibre. The 3-DFs have definite potential in such applications as novel and effective artificial articular cartilages, intervertebral discs, menisci and materials for osteosynthesis and prosthesis, and the like.