New experimental model to study the bone interface of endosseous implants: an in vitro three-dimensional model of...

To set up a three-dimensional culture model of endosseous implant material-osteoblast, titanium (Ti) discs were placed onto confluent cellular layers of human fetal osteoblasts that were cultured in calcifying conditions. Follow-up observations of living cells with phase-contrast microscopy and histological observations of the cell-Ti disc interface with ordinary microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to monitor and verify the formation of three-dimensional cellular structures at the osteoblast-Ti disc interface. These methods were further used to study osteoblast cell behavior during the early stage of bone healing in this three-dimensional cellular model. The follow-up observation showed that, upon the placement of the Ti disc, cells migrated from the cellular layer and attached to the rim of the disc, forming cell bridges. Cells continued to attach and orient throughout the culture time. A cellular multilayer at the osteoblast-Ti interface was formed, which resulted in the three-dimensional model. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy observation showed that there was a mineralizing process at the osteoblast-Ti disc interface just like bone, which confirms the reality of this model. Histological observations with conventional microscopy demonstrated the interfacial relation between biomaterial and cells. If osteoblasts were replaced by other types of cells, this model could be used to study the other kinds of interfaces.