Mechano-Bactericidal Titanium Surfaces for Bone Tissue Engineering

Despite advances in the development of bone substitutes and strict aseptic procedures, the majority of failures in bone grafting surgery are related to nosocomial infections. Development of biomaterials combining both osteogenic and antibiotic activity is, therefore, a crucial public health issue. Herein, two types of intrinsically bactericidal titanium supports were fabricated by using commercially scalable techniques: plasma etching or hydrothermal treatment, which display two separate mechanisms of mechano-bactericidal action. Hydrothermal etching produces a randomly nanostructured surface with sharp nanosheet protrusions killing bacteria via cutting of the cell membrane, whereas plasma etching of titanium produces a microscale two-tier hierarchical topography that both reduce bacterial attachment and rupture those bacteria that encounter the surface. The adhesion, growth, and proliferation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) on the two mechano-bactericidal topographies were assessed. Both types of supports allowed the growth and proliferation of the hASCs in the same manner and cells retained their stemness and osteogenic potential. Furthermore, these supports induced osteogenic differentiation of hASCs without the need of differentiation factors, demonstrating their osteoinductive properties. This study proves that these innovative mechano-bactericidal titanium surfaces with both regenerative and bactericidal properties are a promising solution to improve the success rate of reconstructive surgery.