The enhanced effect of surface microstructured porous titanium on adhesion and osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Porous titanium with appropriate surface treatments can be osteoinductive. To investigate the effect of surface treatments of porous titanium on the attachment and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), two kinds of surface microstructured porous titaniums, H₂O₂/TaCl₅ treated one (HTPT), and H₂O₂/TaCl₅ and subsequent simulated body fluid (SBF) treated one (STPT) were fabricated, and non-treated one (NTPT) was used as control. The morphology, specific surface area (SSA), pore distribution and mechanical strength of these materials were characterized respectively, and the results showed that H₂O₂/TaCl₅ treatment led to a significant increase in both SSA and micropores of HTPT, and the further SBF immersion resulted in the formation of a layer of bone-like apatite on the surface of STPT. Although the surface treatments had a little negative impact on the compressive strength and elasticity modulus of porous titanium, the mechanical strength of HTPT or STPT was enough for the bone defect repair of the load-bearing sites. The protein adsorption and cell adhesion experiments confirmed that the microstructured surface notably enhanced porous titanium's protein binding capacity and promoted MSCs adhesion on the surface. More importantly, cell differentiation experiments proved that the microstructured surface evidently elevated the osteoblastic gene expressions of MSCs compared to NTPT. The enhanced biological effect by the surface treatments was more robust on STPT. Therefore, our results suggest that the microstructured surface has great potential for promoting MSCs differentiation towards osteoblasts, giving excellent support for the osteoinduction of porous titanium with appropriate surface treatments.

Adhesion of human mesenchymal stem cells can be controlled by electron beam-microstructured titanium alloy surfaces during osteogenic differentiation

“…EDX studies of the surface area of the generated microstructures revealed an occasionally altered composition due to the vaporized aluminum of the TiAl 6 V 4 alloy (Figures 3 and 4). The fact that cell adhesion is dependent on both material composition and topography was already investigated by other research groups [13,25,37,38]. Therefore, the results of this study show that the electron beam texturing process for generating microstructures on titanium alloys can be even more attractive due to the lower amount of aluminum found in contact with the cells.…”

Laser beam melting 3D printing of Ti6Al4V based porous structured dental implants: fabrication, biocompatibility analysis and photoelastic study

“…Generally accepted, porous structured Ti alloys have their utilities in osteoinduction of biomaterials4567. They are suitable for repairing / replacing bone defections.…”

“…This benefits the healing potential of bone growth into the implant91011. Also, based on the in-vitro studies giving a critical support for the osteoinduction of porous Ti, mesenchymal stem cells differentiation towards osteoblasts is promoted with the micro-structured material45. Among all these studies, pore size is a decisive factor to influence the bioactivities at the porous structure during the bone tissue regeneration.…”

Peptide aptamers: Novel coatings for orthopaedic implants

“…The surface roughness and morphology are recognised to improve cell attachment and promote osteointegration [4]. However, simply increasing the roughness with acid etching has shown little improvement in performance in vivo [6,7]. On the other hand, changing the surface chemistry using biocompatible coating materials such as hydroxyapatite (HA), which is similar in composition to the mineral component of bone, can improve osteointegration.…”

“…The high temperature followed by rapid cooling can lead to dehydroxylation of HA, change of crystallinity and formation of an amorphous calcium phosphate as well as micro-cracks [4,9]. Despite these drawbacks, plasma spraying coating offers a high throughput method of depositing ceramic coatings on metal implants [4][5][6][7][8][9]16].…”