7 Osteogenic activity of titanium surfaces with nanonetwork structures

Abstract

Titanium surfaces play an important role in affecting osseointegration of dental implants. Previous studies have shown that the titania nanotube promotes osseointegration by enhancing osteogenic differentiation. Only relatively recently have the effects been investigated that titanium surfaces with other nanostructures have on osteogenic differentiation. In this study, we used NaOH solutions with a concentration of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 M to develop a simple and useful titanium surface modification that introduces the nanonetwork structures with titania nanosheet (TNS) nanofeatures to the surface of titanium disks. Using different alkaline concentrations, we evaluated the effects of the modified nanonetwork structure on the osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs). The nanonetwork structures with TNS nanofeatures induced by alkali etching markedly enhanced the BMMSC functions of cell adhesion and osteogenesis-related gene expression. In addition, it significantly increased other cell behaviors such as proliferation, ALP activity, ECM deposition and mineralization. These effects were most pronounced when the concentration of NaOH was 10M. These results suggest that nanonetwork structures with TNS nanofeatures improve BMMSC proliferation and induce their osteogenic differentiation. In addition, the surfaces formed with 10 M NaOH seem to have the potential to improve the clinical performance of dental implants.