Influence of roughness on initial in vitro response of cells to Al2O3/Ce-TZP nanocomposite

Al 2 O 3 /Ce-tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (TZP) nanocomposite was synthesized by a colloidal processing route and sintered in air atmosphere. Sandblasting treatment was made to alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) nanocomposite in order to evaluate the influence of surface roughness on the osteogenic differentiation performing in vitro growing a human osteoblast-like cell line, SaOs-2, and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADMSC) osteogenic differentiated. Smooth roughness values around Ra = 0.5 µm were obtained when the abrasive material was below 90 µm increasing the expression of BGLAP and IBSP genes and Ra = 1.5 µm was found with particles of sizes between 90 and 250 µm upregulating SPARC gene. The non-cytotoxicity and haemocompatibility of ATZ nanocomposite were proved. Alumina-ceria-stabilized zirconia nanocomposite presented in this work exhibits a high potential for application in the fabrication of dental implants due to their biological behavior and very promising mechanical properties.