ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Biomedical implants have been widely used in various orthopedic treatments. However, the existing bone implants often have the disadvantages of poor mechanical properties, immune response, microbial infection, poor healing and so on. Different surface modification techniques can effectively make up for these shortcomings. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the surface modification techniques of the current bone tissue engineering implants. METHODS: The first author searched the PubMed, CNKI, and VIP databases to retrieve the articles regarding repair of tuberculous bone defect published during 2000-2009 with the search terms “bone tissue engineering; bone implant; surface modification; coating” in Chinese and English, respectively. The articles published recently or in high-impact journals were included in this study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The surface of bone tissue engineering implants was modified by inorganic and organic components or by changing the surface topography of the implants. This improves the osteogenesis, bone conductivity, bacteriostasis, and biocompatibility of bone implant to different degrees. However, we need to solve some problems before this new implant is applied to the clinic: how to determine the optimal concentration of different surface modification components, maximize bone healing, inhibit bacterial activity, and avoid other adverse reactions; how to avoid foreign body reaction and immune response caused by particles generated by surface abrasion of these bone tissue engineering implants over time; how to incorporate various growth factors, proteins and other biological molecules into the coating without damaging their respective chemical structures and functions; how to guide the release of growth factors and molecules in a coordinated and controllable way.