In vitro response of pre-osteoblastic cells to laser microgrooved PEEK

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is currently being used in implants as an alternative to titanium, due to its mechanical properties, cytocompatibility and inertness. Several studies have demonstrated that certain patterning on the implants promotes the oriented cell growth of osteoblasts, favouring the formation of bone tissue. This patterning improves the implant's osteointegration in the bone and its mechanical stability. Therefore, the objective of this work is to micro-structure PEEK by laser radiation and to carry out an exhaustive study of the orientation of pre-osteoblast cells that grow on this material. Parallel microgrooves were obtained using an ArF excimer laser coupled with a mask projection unit with distances of 25, 50, 75 and 100 µm between grooves. The cell growth on these PEEK surfaces was studied, in order to compare the effect of different distances between grooves on the biological response of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells. Preferential cell orientation was observed for all studied distances, which was more pronounced in the 25 and 50 µm ones.