Human Bone Derived Cell (HBDC) Behaviour of Sol-Gel Derived Carbonate Hydroxyapatite Coatings on Titanium Alloy Substrates

Abstract

Poor cell adhesion to orthopaedic and dental implants results in implant failure. Establishing and maintaining mature bone at the bone/device interface is critical to the long-term success of the prostheses. Considerable effort has been devoted to alter the surface characteristics of these biomaterials in order to improve the initial interlocking of device and skeleton in the noncemented joint prosthesis. Previously we demonstrated that surface chemistry modification of bioceramics induced osteogenesis. In the present work, we investigate the effect of surface chemistry modification of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) with alkoxide-derived carbonate hydroxyapatite (CHAp) using sol-gel coating methods on human bone derived cell (HBDC)behaviour. Western blotting demonstrated that sol gel coating of Ti-6Al-4V with CHAp upregulated the expression of key signalling protein Shc isoforms (p46, p52, p66) and phosphorylated Erk1/2. CHAp-modification of Ti-6Al-4V is associated with signal transduction pathways involving the key signalling protein Shc and ERK1/2 which may lead to enhanced gene expression of extracellular matrix proteins at the skeletal tissue/device interface.