Local bisphosphonates in human study show...
External fixation pins tend to loosen with time, especially from cancellous bone. A coating that releases a bisphosphonate has previously shown to improve the fixation of dental implants in humans. In this study bisphosphonate coating on steel pins were tested for external fixation. The results suggest that a bisphosphonate coating enables metaphyseal fixation with no difference from uncoated pins in cortical bone.
Bisphosphonate-coated external fixation pins appear similar to hydroxyapatite-coated pins in the tibial metaphysis and to uncoated pins in the shaft, Toksvig-Larsen S and Aspenberg P Acta Orthop 2013