Wool‐derived keratin hydrogel enhances implant osseointegration in cancellous bone

Aim This study investigated whether a keratin hydrogel derived from wool enhances ossointegration of dental implants, using a cancellous bone model in sheep. Method Ten female sheep received one dental implant per hind leg in the distal femoral condyles. Test implants were coated with 1 mL of keratin hydrogel containing sulphonated keratin and hydroxyapatite; control implants remained uncoated; implants were not functionally loaded axially. Biomechanical stability was tested with resonance frequency analysis (RFA) at placement and euthanasia. Animals were sacrificed after 4 weeks and resin‐embedded histomorphometry performed. Findings : Bone appeared denser and more mature around the keratin‐treated test implants. Average % bone–implant contact was significantly increased for the test (58.1 ± 4.6 [SD]%) compared to control implants (34.4 ± 7.5%) ( p  = 0.01). RFA values were lower for control (76.5 ± 4.2 ISQ) than test implants (80.4 ± 1.4) after 4 weeks ( p  = 0.04). Conclusion the increase in osseointegration found in this model suggests that keratin hydrogel has the potential to enhance the successful osseointegration of dental implants placed into poor quality bone. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2447–2454, 2018.