Assessment of prolonged tissue response to porousiron implant by radiodensity approach

Porous iron has been recently introduced as new biomaterials for bone scaffolds. As a metal that degrades in the in vivo setting (biodegradable metal), little has been known for its cell-material interaction within the living tissue especially in the view of its applications for bone implant materials. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess tissue response to the implantation of porous iron in the in vivo setting using rats as animal model and radiographic examination. Ten adult Sprague Dawley rats received the implantation of porous iron implants having different porosity into their femoral bone followed by radiographic examination up to 5 months post-implantation. Results shows differences in the opacity of radiographic images where the implants looked more radiopaque than bone and muscle. Radiodensity values of the implants decreases overtime indicating they experienced progressive degradation. This values dynamically change over time up to 5 months in relation to the event of chronic inflammation, degradation and bone healing process.