Abstract
Nanostructured titanium has become a useful material for biomedical applications such as dental implants. Certain surface properties (grain size, roughness, wettability) are highly expected to promote cell adhesion and osseointegration. The aim of this study was to compare the biocompatibilities of several titanium materials using human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19. Eight different types of specimens were examined: machined commercially pure grade 2 (cpTi2) and 4 (cpTi4) titanium, nanostructured titanium of the same grades (nTi2, nTi4), and corresponding specimens with laser-treated surfaces (cpTi2L, cpTi4L, nTi2L, nTi4L). Their surface topography was evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy. Surface roughness was measured using a mechanical contact profilometer. Specimens with laser-treated surfaces had significantly higher surface roughness. Wettability was measured by the drop contact angle method. Nanostructured samples had significantly higher wettability. Cell proliferation after 48 hours from plating was assessed by viability and proliferation assay. The highest proliferation of osteoblasts was found in nTi4 specimens. The analysis of cell proliferation revealed a difference between machined and laser-treated specimens. The mean proliferation was lower on the laser-treated titanium materials. Although plain laser treatment increases surface roughness and wettability, it does not seem to lead to improved biocompatibility.
Highlights
Titanium is one of the most widely-used implant materials for biomedical applications, thanks to its excellent properties, such as high biocompatibility, non-toxicity, resistance to body fluids, flexibility, and corrosion resistance [1,2,3]
We found that the proliferation of osteoblasts was higher on nTi4 than on nTi2 (p = 0.0200)
We examined how the surface topography and its modification by laser treatment affects the behavior of osteoblastic cells grown on the surfaces of Commercially pure titanium (cpTi) and ultra-fine grained (UFG) nanostructured titanium (nTi) of two different grades
Summary
Titanium is one of the most widely-used implant materials for biomedical applications, thanks to its excellent properties, such as high biocompatibility, non-toxicity, resistance to body fluids, flexibility, and corrosion resistance [1,2,3]. Pure titanium (cpTi) has outstanding biocompatibility but relatively poor strength, whereas titanium alloys, due to their composition and microstructure, have superior strength [4] but, at the same time, they contain potentially toxic or allergenic ingredients [5,6]. An effective way to improve the mechanical strength of cpTi is to refine its grain structure. Much effort has been devoted to important investigations of mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained (UFG) materials. UFG metals exhibit higher strength levels than those with ordinary microstructures. Bulk and fully-dense nanostructured titanium (nTi) can be produced using
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