Fig. 4.

Antibacterial evaluation of Sim-HA-Ti6Al4V in vivo.

A Changes in the body weights of the rats in the four groups during the 6 weeks after surgery. B Changes in rat blood WBCs in the four groups at 1 w, 2 w, and 6 w after surgery. C Radiology scores of X-rays of four groups at 1 w, 3 w, and 6 w after surgery (n = 10). D Representative images of rat femur at 1 w, 3 w, and 6 w after surgery. The red arrows indicate destruction of the cortical bone of the distal femur. E-F Plasma concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in rats in the four groups at 1 w, 2 w, and 6 w after surgery. G Culture of bacteria released from four different implants. H Quantitative analysis of released bacteria from four different implants (n = 3). I SEM images of four different implants 6 w after surgery, scale bar:2 μm. Data are shown as the mean ± SD, n = 12. *for P < 0.05, ** for P < 0.01, *** for P < 0.001.