Performance of adhesive bone cement containing hydroxyapatite particles

A new acrylic bone cement which can adhere to both bone and prostheses was developed based on a methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer containing 4-methacryloyloxyethyl trimellitate anhydride (4-META) as adhesion promoting agent. Moreover, hydroxyapatite (HA) particles were introduced into the 4-META cement as a bone compatible filler. The mechanical strengths of an acrylic bone cement without 4-META decreased drastically with an increase in the percentage of HA particles in the cement. However, the mechanical strengths of the HA-containing 4-META cement did not change in the same way as that of the 4-META cement without HA due to adhesion between the cement HA particles and matrix. The HA particles did not affect the adhesion of the 4-META cement to bone and metals. Implantation of the 4-META cement and the HA-containing 4-META cement in animals demonstrated that these cements did not disturb bone ingrowth and the new bone was able to contact the cement directly. The 4-META cements, with and without HA particles, could adhere to bone in vivo.