Biomimetic modification of the TiO2/glass composite Ecopore with heparinized collagen and the osteoinductive factor BMP-2

The porous TiO2/glass composite Ecopore has potential applications in hard tissue replacement. We describe the modification of Ecopore with the growth factor bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) to add osteoinductive properties. Ecopore covalently coated with BMP-2 caused a weak induction of alkaline phosphatase in murine embryonal fibroblasts. In a rabbit bone defect model, BMP-2-coated Ecopore had moderately higher bone apposition rates and ingrown bone quantities at 6 weeks after implantation. To overcome loss of function due to chemical surface coupling, we filled the pore system of Ecopore with heparinized collagen sponge and loaded this secondary matrix with BMP-2. Heparinization of collagen filling increased the BMP-2 loading capacity of the matrix approximately 1.28-fold. Within 96 h, 17.0 ± 0.1 and 10.1 ± 0.2% of the used BMP-2 was released from non-modified and heparinized Ecopore/collagen, respectively, indicating that the heparin modification retarded BMP-2 release. Revealed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of implant cross-sectional areas, BMP-2-loaded Ecopore/collagen had significantly higher bony ingrowth quantities in rabbits, with the heparinized modification yielding the highest value (16.09 ± 3.51%, p < 0.005) compared with the non-heparinized matrix (10.72 ± 4.07%, p < 0.05) and the BMP-2-free controls (5.60 ± 1.47%). This suggested a beneficial effect of the biomimetic modification of Ecopore with heparinized collagen for bone healing and integration.