Effects of surface morphology on human osteosarcoma cell response

It is known that surface roughness enhances the anchorage of implants to bone and opens up the possibilities of the incorporation and release of antibiotics around titanium implants. In this study, titanium oxide was formed by the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) method. Commercially available pure titanium disks with diameter of 10mm and 2mm in thickness were used as substrates. MAO of the specimen was carried out in an aqueous electrolyte by applying a pulsed DC wave to the specimen. The surface characteristics of the MAO implants, including surface morphology and surface roughness, were analyzed by SEM and surface profilometer, respectively. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect produced by MAO of the titanium surface on cell cultures by cell proliferation assay, cell morphology and alkaline phosphatase activity. The results showed the formation of an oxide layer with micropores and roughness by MAO. No significant difference in the proliferation and spreading morphology of machined, blasted and MAO surfaces was observed. However, the ALP activity of osteoblast cells on MAO surface was higher than on machined and blasted surfaces in 4 day and 7 day cultures, respectively. From this study, it was concluded that the MAO-treated titanium exhibited an effect on early osteoblast differentiation.