Surface Functionalization of Titanium Alloy with miR-29b Nanocapsules To Enhance Bone Regeneration

Titanium and its alloys have been widely used over the past 3 decades as implants for healing bone defects. Nevertheless, the bioinert property of titanium alloy limits its clinical application and surface modification method is frequently performed to improve the biological and chemical properties. Recently, the delivery of microRNA with osteogenesis capability has been recognized as a promising tool to enhance bone regeneration of implants. Here, we developed a biodegradable coating to modify the titanium surface in order to enhance osteogenic bioactivity. The previous developed nanocapsules were used as the building blocks, and then a bioactive titanium coating was designed to entrap the miR-29b nanocapsules. This coating was not only favorable for cell adhesion and growth but also provided sufficient microRNA transfection efficacy and osteoinductive potential, resulting in a significant enhancement of bone regeneration on the surface of bioinert titanium alloy.