Table 1.

Number of animals with different types of unions, as judged by manual palpation

Union type	Autograft	BMP-2-PN	HCPN	BMP-2-HCPN
Complete union	5	0	0	3
Partial union	1	5	2	3
Non-union	0	1	2	0
Total	6	6	4	6

Complete union: fusion mass continuity was maintained and flexion and elasticity were similar to bone tissue

Non union: fusion masses displayed flexions resembling those of soft tissue

Partial union: intermediate between union and non union

Autograft: autogenous iliac chip bone implant

BMP-2-PN: BMP-2 (20μg) mixed with PLGA nanospheres (50μg), suspended in fibrin gel (2.5mL)

HCPN: heparin conjugated PLGA nanospheres without BMP-2, suspended in fibrin gel

BMP-2-HCPN: BMP-2 mixed with heparin conjugated PLGA nanospheres, suspended in fibrin gel

Fisher's exact test indicated that there was a correlation between the type of implant and the type of union as a result (p=0.009).