Hydrocarbon Deposition Attenuates Osteoblast Activity on Titanium

Abstract

Although the reported percentage of bone-implant contact is far lower than 100%, the cause of such low levels of bone formation has rarely been investigated. This study tested the negative biological effect of hydrocarbon deposition onto titanium surfaces, which has been reported to be inevitable. Osteogenic MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on titanium disks on which the carbon concentration was experimentally regulated to achieve carbon/titanium (C/Ti) ratios of 0.3, 0.7, and 1.0. Initial cellular activities such as cell attachment and cell spreading were concentration-dependently suppressed by the amount of carbon on the titanium surface. The osteoblastic functions of alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium mineralization were also reduced by more than 40% on the C/Ti (1.0) surface. These results indicate that osteoblast activity is influenced by the degree of hydrocarbon contamination on titanium implants and suggest that hydrocarbon decomposition before implant placement may increase the biocompatibility of titanium.

<b>Enhancing osteoblast-affinity of titanium scaffolds for bone engineering by use of ultraviolet light tr</b><b>eatment </b>

“…UV treatment significantly decreased the percentage of surface carbon to one third compared with that of untreated control. Previous study reported the influence of carbon accumulation to titanium surface on the osteoblast affinity (11). In that study, behavior of osteoblasts cultured on titanium with different degrees of hydrocarbon contamination was observed.…”

“…The UV treatment induces various physicochemical changes to the surface of titanium as follows: 1) removing accumulating carbon, 2) converting the hydrophilicity from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, and 3) converting the electrical charge from electro-negative to electropositive (2,3,17,19). These surface properties of UV-treated titanium are considered advantageous for osteoblast affinity (4,11,15). Furthermore, UV treatment can be applied to all titanium devices of any design surface topography.…”

Effect on Osteogenesis of Cleaning Titanium Implants with Ozonated Water

“…The significant difference in area ratio was not large, but it suggests that the calcification node formed in the O 3 group was sterically large. Carbon compounds were deposited on the titanium disks, which inhibits osteoblast activity 16) but by cleaning the disk surface with ozonated water, the carbon compounds were removed, as indicated by the promotion, proliferation, and differentiation of osteoblast-like cells.…”

“…The carbon compounds adhering to the titanium surface at the time of placement of the implant are an important factor in determining early adhesion of osteoblast cells to the titanium surface 16) . However, it is not possible to control the accumulation of organic matter during production of titanium implants 10,32) .…”

“…In addition, there is still room for improvement in the ratio of the titanium surface area that is in close contact with the bone, which is currently 45-65 % 13,14) . In the titanium implants now used in implant treatment, cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation decrease over time due to adhesion of carbon compounds to the titanium surface 15,16) . Ozone is used in various fields such as medicine, industry, and dairy farming for sterilization, deodorization, and bleaching 17) as well as in many areas of dentistry.…”