Controlled release of vanadium from titanium oxide coatings for improved integration of soft tissue implants

This study evaluates the potential of titanium oxide coatings for short-term delivery of vanadium for improved wound healing around implants. Titanium and vanadium oxides are bioactive agents that elicit different bioresponses in cells, ranging from implant integration and reduction of inflammation to modulation of cell proliferation and morphology. These oxides were combined in biomaterial coatings using metal-organic precursors and rapidly screened in cell-culture microplates to establish how vanadium-loading influences cell proliferation and morphology. Twenty-eight-day elution studies indicated that there was a controlled release of vanadium from stable titanium oxide matrices. Elution profiles were mathematically modeled for vanadium loading of 20-1.25% up to a period of 28 days. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy of the coatings indicated that the vanadium was present as a nanoscale dispersion and not segregated micron-scale islands. The study confirmed that the observed bioresponse of cells was modulated by the soluble release of vanadium into the surrounding medium. Controlled release of vanadium from titania coatings may be used to influence soft-tissue integration of implants by modulating cell proliferation, attachment, inflammation, and wound healing dynamics.