Osteoconductivity and growth factor production by MG63 osteoblastic cells on bioglass-coated orthopedic implants

We have produced Bioglass coatings for Orthopedic implants by using a novel coating technique, CoBlast. The two resultant surfaces, designated BG and hydroxyapatite (HA)/BG, were compared with their HA counterpart, OsteoZip in terms of osteoblastic cell attachment, adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and growth factor production. BG and HA/BG were demonstrated by goniometry to be more hydrophilic than OsteoZip. This corresponded to enhanced protein adsorption, cell attachment, and cell adhesion documented by both quantitative and qualitative assessments. BG and HA/BG surfaces had a significant initial release of Si and Ca ions, and this was consistent with elevated cell proliferation and basic fibroblast growth factor levels. However, OsteoZip, being similar to HA/BG, exhibited better osteogenic differentiation than BG did, shown by augmented differentiation marker activity at both protein and mRNA levels. Sandwich ELISA was used to quantify angiopoietin and inducible nitric oxide synthase which are involved in peri-prosthetic angiogenesis and aseptic loosening of total hip replacement, respectively. Both Bioglass-derived coatings provide superior initial osteoconductivity to OsteoZip, and HA/Bioglass composite coating outruns in long-term osteogenic differentiation and prognostic bioprocesses. The novel coatings discovered in this study have significant potential in providing both orthopedic and therapeutic functions.