Local Release of Strontium from Sputter-Deposited Coatings at Implants Increases the Strontium-to-Calcium Ratio in Peri-implant Bone.

It is well known that strontium (Sr) has a significant effect on peri-implant bone healing when administered systemically. Due to the risk of adverse effects of such treatments, new routes focusing on the local, sustained release of Sr from bone-implant contact surfaces have been explored, with success in in vivo experiments. However, the increase of Sr concentrations in the peri-implant bone has not been described in depth yet. Here, we show that a local, sustained Sr release from Ti-Sr-O physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings by magnetron sputter coating increases the Sr/Ca ratio close to the implant in a rabbit model and that the Sr/Ca background level is reached approximately 500 μm from the implant.