Cytocompatibility of Ti–xZr alloys as dental implant materials

Abstract

Ti–xZr (x = 5, 15, 25, 35, 45% wt%) alloys with low elastic modulus and high mechanical strength were fabricated as a novel implant material. The biocompatibility of the Ti–xZr alloys was evaluated by osteoblast-like cell line (MG63) in terms of cytotoxicity, proliferation, adhesion, and osteogenic induction using CCK-8 and live/dead cell assays, electron microscopy, and real-time PCR. The Ti–xZr alloys were non-toxic and showed superior biomechanics compared to commercially pure titanium (cpTi). Ti–45Zr had the optimum strength/elastic modulus ratio and osteogenic activity, thus is a promising to used as dental implants.