Apatitic Deposition in Osteoblasts Cultured on Micropatterned Silicon

Abstract

In this study, the osteogenic differentiation of murine pre-osteoblasts cultured on patterned silicon was investigated. Specifically, micropatterns were fabricated in orientation silicon wafers to create linear gratings with a width of either 2 μm (2 μm depth, 10 μm pitch) or 20 μm (2 μm depth, 30 μm pitch). Two subclones (4, 24) of the MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cell line were seeded on the micropatterns and cultured in osteogenic induction medium for 28 days. Cells cultured on planar silicon served as the controls. Apatite formation was examined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Deposition of [002] and [211]/[112] apatite-like material was clearly observed in subclone 4 (strongly mineralizing) osteoblasts cultured on both micro patterns.