In vitro behaviour of human gingival fibroblasts cultured on 3D-printed titanium alloy with hydrogenated TiO2 nanotubes

Su Chen,Yatong Guo,Caiyun Wang,Xin Wang

doi:10.1007/s10856-022-06649-4

Su Chen, Yatong Guo + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-022-06649-4

Copy DOI

Abstract

Selective laser melting (SLM), as one of the most common 3D-printed technologies, can form personalized implants, which after further surface modification can obtain excellent osseointegration. To study the surface properties of SLM titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) with hydrogenated titanium dioxide (TiO2)nanotubes (TNTs) and its influence on the biological behaviour of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs), we used SLM to prepare 3D-printed titanium alloy samples (3D-Ti), which were electrochemically anodizing to fabricate 3D-TNTs and then further hydrogenated at high temperature to obtain 3D-H2-TNTs. Polished cast titanium alloy (MP-Ti) was used as the control group. The surface morphology, hydrophilicity and roughness of MP-Ti, 3D-Ti, 3D-TNTs and 3D-H2-TNTs were measured and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle metre, surface roughness measuring instrument and atomic force microscope, respectively. HGFs were cultured on the four groups of samples, and the cell morphology was observed by SEM. Fluorescence staining (DAPI) was used to observe the number of adhered cell nuclei, while a cell counting kit (CCK-8) was used to detect the early adhesion and proliferation of HGFs. Fluorescence quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the expression of adhesion-related genes and fibronectin (FN), respectively. The results of this in vitro comparison study indicated that electrochemical anodic oxidation and high-temperature hydrogenation can form a superhydrophilic micro-nano composite morphology on the surface of SLM titanium alloy, which can promote both the early adhesion and proliferation of human gingival fibroblasts and improve the expression of cell adhesion-related genes and fibronectin.Graphical abstract

Highlights

IntroductionImplant restoration has become the choice of an increasing number of patients to repair missing teeth with the development of dental implant technology
Scanning electron microscopy showed that the surface of MP-Ti is flat and smooth, while there are a large number of incompletely melted titanium spheres with different sizes on the surface of the 3D-printed titanium alloy samples (3D-Ti) substrate, and the diameter of most titanium spheres is in the range of 30–50 μm
There was no significant difference in surface morphology between 3D-TNTs and 3D-H2-TNTs

Summary

Introduction

Implant restoration has become the choice of an increasing number of patients to repair missing teeth with the development of dental implant technology. Standardized titanium implants and abutments are commonly used 27 Page 2 of 11. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine (2022) 33:27 in the clinic with superior biocompatibility, they lack an individualized design and have difficulty satisfying the needs of some complicated cases. The emergence of 3D printing technology provides reliable technical support for the manufacture and wide use of individualized implants [1]. With the aid of computer design, 3D printing technology can prototype implants rapidly and accurately while achieving better controllability. Selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the most common 3D printing additive manufacturing technologies. The titanium alloy produced by SLM shows good mechanical properties and has the characteristics of a low elastic modulus and corrosion resistance [2]

Methods

Results

Conclusion