Osteoblast-like cell adhesion on porous silicon-incorporated TiO2 coating prepared by micro-arc oxidation

Silicon-incorporated TiO(2) coating (Si-TiO(2) ) was prepared on titanium (Ti) by micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique in the Ca, P, Si-containing electrolyte. The surface topography, phase, and element composition of the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), respectively. Osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the surface of the coatings to evaluate their adhesion behavior. The obtained results showed that Si element was successfully incorporated into the porous TiO(2) coating, which did not alter apparently the surface topography and phase composition of the coating. The adhesion of the MC3T3-E1 cells on Si-incorporated TiO(2) coating was significantly enhanced compared with the Si-free TiO(2) coating and pure Ti plates. In addition, the enhanced cell adhesion may at least partly be mediated by integrin β1-FAK signal transduction pathway. The present work suggests that the Si-TiO(2) coating is worth further consideration for orthopedic implant applications.