Abstract
The in vitro biocompatibility of a novel carbon-coated titanium implant (CTi), fabricated by heating a poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA)-coated titanium disk at 700°C in argon gas, was investigated. The obtained CTi possessed a surface layer of anatase–TiO2 covered by amorphous carbon about 20 nm thick. In order to establish the effectiveness of the CTi as one of the implant materials, in vitro tests using human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells (hBMCs) were performed to check cytotoxicity, by examining cell proliferation, cell differentiation and mineralization capability. After 10 days of culture a higher degree of cell viability was observed on the surface of CTi. On the other hand, hBMCs cultured in direct contact with CTi continued to show alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and showed mineralization similar to the control cultures. These results indicated that the titanium coated with carbon possessed better biological response than that without carbon, which was demonstrated by the higher proliferation rates of osteoblasts, higher osteo differentiation and higher mineralization ability.
