Behavior of osteoblasts on the surfaces of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite coating

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on the activity of osteoblasts. Methodology: Modified one-step electrochemical deposition of nanofeatured HA powder (EcDHA) on titanium (Ti) disks was compared with conventional electrophortic deposition of micrometer-scale HA (EpDHA). And Ti disks without any coating were used as blank control. Osteoblasts were cultured on the Ti disks with different surfaces. Cell adhesion, proliferation, and osteoblastic gene and protein (Cbfa1, osteopontin, osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein) expressions were measured. Results: The number of osteoblasts on EcDHA surface was significantly increased, compared with that on EpDHA and untreated Ti surface at 24 h (P<0. 05). The realtime RT-PCR and western blot analysis showed that the expression levels of Cbfa1, osteopontin, osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein were significantly increased on the EcDHA coating compared with either EpDHA coating or uncoated Ti surfaces through the whole culture period (P<0. 05). Conclusions: Our study suggest that nanoscale-featured HA coating on Ti substrates may improve the osseointegration response, and provide new evidence on nanocrystalline HA coatings on titanium for better dental implant applications. © 2011 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien.