Increased osteoblast adhesion on nano structured selenium- a promising material for orthopedic applications

Abstract

Metallic bone implants possess numerous problems limiting their efficacy, such as poor osseointegration, stress shielding, and corrosion under in vivo environments. In addition, these materials were not originally developed to simultaneously serve as an orthopedic implant and treat bone cancer (for which some patients require an orthopedic implant). The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of selenium as a bone implant material to prevent bone cancer from re-occurring and support new healthy bone growth. For this, selenium (spherical or semispherical shots) was pressed into compacts and then etched using NaOH to obtain various surface structures ranging from the micron, sub micron to nano scales. Elemental selenium was also coated on titanium substrates at different coverage levels using selenium salt reduction by glutathione. Through these etching and coating techniques, biologically-inspired nano surface roughness values were created on selenium compacts and selenium coated on titanium to match those of natural bone. Increased osteoblast (bone-forming cells) adhesion was observed on the more rough selenium compacts and on titanium substrates with higher levels of selenium coverage. In this manner, this study suggests a promising future for nanostructured selenium in orthopedic applications involving bone cancer treatment