| It is well demonstrated in the literature that ceramic drug delivery devices are highly compatible with host tissues and non-immunogenic. However, recent studies in our laboratory have demonstrated the need for further study of these devices in vivo to further elucidate the mechanisms involved in biocompatibility. The specific objective of this investigation was to study the morphological characteristics of the fibrous tissue capsule surrounding three different ceramic devices. In this investigation, porous cylindrical implants of aluminum calcium phosphate (ALCAP), hydroxyapatite (HA), and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) were implanted into 15 adult male rats (n = 5/group) subcutaneously (S/C) and intraperitoneally (I/P). At 90 days post-implantation, the animals were euthanized; and the ceramic devices, the fibrous tissue, and vital organs were harvested and prepared using appropriate histology techniques and stains. Analysis of the data using ANOVA and Tukey statistical tests revealed the following: (1) The presence of macrophages, neutrophils, fibroblasts, degree of vascularity, and thickness of the fibrous tissue matrix was found to be statistically different among the subcutaneously implanted ceramic groups (p {dollar}{dollar} 0.05). |
