Nano-hydroxyapatite coated TiO2 nanotubes on Ti-19Zr-10Nb-1Fe alloy promotes osteogenesis in vitro

Titanium and titanium alloys have broad applications in orthopedic implants due to their excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The biological activity of the metallic implants can be improved by implementing a nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HA) coating, while it is still challenging to synthesize uniform and stable nano-HA on the metallic materials. The characterization results confirmed that the nanotube array with a diameter of 87 +/- 21 nm and a length of 8.1 +/- 1.3 mu m is achieved by using double anodic oxidation, and then microsphere-like nano-HA crystals are formed on the TiO2 nanotube arrays. Through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) analysis, it is determined that the chemical composition of the coating is hydroxyapatite. in vitro cell experiments, compared to the TZNF metal surface, the TZNF-NTs/HA is beneficial to the proliferation and adhesion of osteoblasts, and the activity of ALP was 6.93 +/- 0.47 DEA unit and the content of OCN was 7.04 +/- 0.51 ng/L. In terms of the expression of osteogenic gene information as osterix, osteopontin, and osteonectin, the mRNA levels of TZNF-NTs/HA were 2.6-fold, 1.6-fold, and 4.3-fold higher than that of TZNF samples, respectively, at 14 days. The results suggested that the introduction of nano-HA improves osteoblast differentiation and local factor production, as well as indicates the potential for improved implant osseointegration.

Automated summary

Titanium and titanium alloys are widely used in orthopedic implants due to their excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Introducing nano-HA coating can improve the biological activity of metallic implants, facilitating osteoblast proliferation and adhesion, as well as enhancing osteoblast differentiation and implant osseointegration potential.