Rapid
and effective osseointegration, as a critical factor in affecting
the success rate of titanium (Ti) implants in orthopedic applications,
is significantly affected by their surface microstructure and chemical
composition. In this work, surface microgrooved Ti–6Al–4V
alloys with graphene oxide coating (Ti–G–GO) were fabricated
by a combination of laser processing and chemical assembly techniques.
The osteogenic capability in vitro and new bone formation in vivo
of the implants were systematically investigated, and biomechanical
pull-out tests of the screws were also performed. First, in vitro
studies indicated that the optimal microgroove width of the titanium
alloy surface was 45 μm (Ti–G), and the optimum GO concentration
was 1 mg/mL. Furthermore, the effects of the surface microstructure
and GO coating on the in vitro bioactivity were investigated through
culturing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on the surface
of titanium alloy plates. The results showed that the BMSCs cultured
on the Ti–G–GO group exhibited the best adhesion, proliferation,
and differentiation, compared with that on the Ti–G and Ti
groups. Micro-computed tomography evaluation, histological analysis,
and pull-out testing demonstrated that both Ti–G and Ti–G–GO
implants had the higher osseointegration than the untreated Ti implant.
Moreover, the osteogenic capability of the Ti–G–GO group
appeared to be superior to that of the Ti–G group, which could
be attributed to the improvement of surface wettability and apatite
formation by the GO coatings. These results suggest that the combination
of the microgroove structure and GO coatings exhibits considerable
potential for enhancing the surface bioactivation of materials, and
the combination modification is expected to be used on engineered
titanium alloy surfaces to enhance osseointegration for orthopedic
applications.
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