Bone cell responses of titanium blasted with bioactive glass particles

Surface modification of Ti-based metals is an important issue in improving the bone cell responses and bone-implant integration. Blasting Ti with granules (mostly alumina) is commonly used to prepare a clean surface and provide a level of roughness. In this study, glass granules with a bioactive composition were used as the blasting source to improve the surface bioactivity and biocompatibility of a Ti substrate. Bioactive glass particles with a composition of 70SiO(2) * 25CaO * 5P(2)O(5) were prepared using a sol-gel method. A Ti disc was blasted with glass particles using a dental blasting unit (BG-Ti). A Ti disc blasted with commercial spherical-shaped glass (G-Ti) and a disc without blasting (Ti) were also prepared for comparison. The blasted Ti contained a large number of glass particles after the blasting process. The surface roughness of the samples in ascending order was G-Ti>BG-Ti>Ti. Murine-derived preosteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) were seeded on the samples, and the cell growth, differentiation, and mineralization behaviors were observed. The osteoblastic cells attached well and spread actively over all the sample groups with extensive cytoskeletal processes. The level of cell growth on the BG-Ti showed a continual increase with culturing up to 7 days, showing good cell viability. However, there was no significant difference (ANOVA, p<0.05) with respect to the G-Ti and Ti groups. In particular, the alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity of the cells was significantly higher on the BG-Ti than on the other groups after culturing for 14 days. Moreover, the mineralization behavior of the cells, as assessed by Alizarin S Red, was superior on the BG-Ti to that observed on the other groups after culturing for 14 and 28 days. Overall, the blasting of Ti with a bioactive glass composition is considered beneficial for producing substrates with enhanced osteogenic potential.