The role of nanostructures and hydrophilicity in osseointegration: In-vitro protein-adsorption and blood-interaction studies

Abstract

Protein adsorption and blood coagulation play important roles in the early stages of osseointegration and are strongly influenced by surface properties. We present a systematic investigation of the influence of different surface properties on the adsorption of the blood proteins fibrinogen and fibronectin and the degree of early blood coagulation. Experiments on custom-made and commercially available, microroughened hydrophobic titanium (Ti) surfaces (Ti SLA-Hphob), hydrophilic (Hphil) microroughened Ti surfaces with nanostructures (Ti SLActive-HphilNS), and on bimetallic Ti zirconium alloy (TiZr, Roxolid®) samples were performed, to study the biological response in relation to the surface wettability and the presence of nanostructures (NS). Protein adsorption on the different substrates showed a highly significant effect of surface NS. Hydrophilicity alone did not significantly enhance protein adsorption. Overall, the combination of NS and hydrophilicity led to the highest adsorption levels; independent of whether Ti or TiZr were used. Hydrophilicity induced a strong effect on blood coagulation, whereas the effect of NS alone was weak. The combination of both surface characteristics led to early and most pronounced blood-coagulation. Therefore, nanostructured, hydrophilic Ti and TiZr surfaces may perform better in terms of osseointegration due to continuous protein adsorption and the formation of a layer of blood components on the implant surface.