Novel carbon fiber composite for hip replacement with improved in vitro and in vivo osseointegration

A novel composite femoral stem has been developed to match cortical stiffness and achieve fixation by osseointegration with the primary goal to reduce cortical bone loss associated with stress shielding. The femoral stem consists of three distinct material layers: the first is a long carbon fiber (CF) in a polyamide 12 (PA12) polymer matrix (PA12/CF); the second is a PA12/HA (hydroxyapatite) interface; and the third is a plasma‐sprayed coating of HA. In vitro studies with MG63 cells indicated that the HA surface supported improved proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast‐like cells as determined by alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin production when compared with Ti‐6Al‐4V (Ti64). In vivo studies comparing the composite and Ti64 rods in the rabbit femur demonstrated significantly higher bone apposition to the composite than Ti64 rods. The results of this study indicate that the invasion of surrounding bone cells and thus osteointegration together with its bone‐matching mechanical properties make the PA12/CF/HA stem a promising hip replacement candidate. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2009