%0 Journal Article %J Biomaterials %D 2005 %T Nacre/bone interface changes in durable nacre endosseous implants in sheep %A Berland, Sophie %A Delattre, O %A Sandrine Borzeix %A Catonne, Y %A Lopez, E %X Raw nacre implants persist even after 9 months of implantation into bone tissue in sheep. However the nacre surface undergoes a limited biodegradation process. Smooth-surfaced nacre implants were seen to become microporous after implantation. The results of these long-term. in vivo studies show that the overall process involves bone-resorbing cells, relies on a two-phase mechanism and may correspond to a regulation process. The rate of surface change depends on the bone implantation site and the nacre/bone interaction. The in vivo biodegradability of nacre is a highly variable parameter. The size and shape of the implanted nacre and the cellular environment of the implant are key factors in determining the biodegradation kinetics of the nacre in a living system. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. %B Biomaterials %V 26 %P 2767–2773 %G eng %R 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2004.07.019