Ti6Al4V Surface Modification Techniques to Modulate Bone Cell Response: A Review

Abstract

Biomaterial-tissue interactions are known to largely affect implant performance, relating to alteration of physiological processes. Within this context, metals continue to have a major role as most implants contain at least one metallic part. In particular, titanium alloys are of pivotal importance in orthopedics and dentistry. Being osteointegration somewhat affected by implant surface conditions, surface modification qualifies as a way to modulate tissue response, net of an effective design of the whole implant. Currently, a lack of full understanding on the direction to be taken for proper techniques and process conditions to be employed, for the regulation of osteointegration, can be recognized; this happens as a result of the inherent complexity involving host response, implant location as well as its surface chemistry, topography, stiffness and so on. This short review focuses on one of the most used titanium alloys, namely Ti6Al4V. An overview of viable surface modification processes studied in view of bone cell response, as a way to predict implant performance, will be provided, together with the most recent research findings towards a new generation of biomedical implants.