Cell-surface interactions play a crucial role for biomaterial application in orthopaedics.
It is evident that not only the chemical composition of solid substances influence cellular adherence,
migration, proliferation and differentiation but also the surface topography of a biomaterial.
The progressive application of nanostructured surfaces in medicine has gained increasing interest
to improve the cytocompatibility and osteointegration of orthopaedic implants. Therefore, the
understanding of cell-surface interactions is of major interest for these substances. In this review,
we elucidate the principle mechanisms of nano- and microscale cell-surface interactions in vitro for
different cell types onto typical orthopaedic biomaterials such as titanium (Ti),
cobalt-chrome-molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloys, stainless steel (SS), as well as synthetic polymers
(UHMWPE, XLPE, PEEK, PLLA). In addition, effects of nano- and microscaled particles and their
significance in orthopaedics were reviewed. The significance for the cytocompatibility
of nanobiomaterials is discussed critically.