Osteogenic activity of titanium surfaces with nanonetwork structures

BACKGROUND Titanium surfaces play an important role in affecting osseointegration of dental implants. Previous studies have shown that the titania nanotube promotes osseointegration by enhancing osteogenic differentiation. Only relatively recently have the effects of titanium surfaces with other nanostructures on osteogenic differentiation been investigated. METHODS In this study, we used NaOH solutions with concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, and 12.5 M to develop a simple and useful titanium surface modification that introduces the nanonetwork structures with titania nanosheet (TNS) nanofeatures to the surface of titanium disks. The effects of such a modified nanonetwork structure, with different alkaline concentrations on the osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs), were evaluated. RESULTS The nanonetwork structures with TNS nanofeatures induced by alkali etching markedly enhanced BMMSC functions of cell adhesion and osteogenesis-related gene expression, and other cell behaviors such as proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, extracellular matrix deposition, and mineralization were also significantly increased. These effects were most pronounced when the concentration of NaOH was 10.0 M. CONCLUSION The results suggest that nanonetwork structures with TNS nanofeatures improved BMMSC proliferation and induced BMMSC osteogenic differentiation. In addition, the surfaces formed with 10.0 M NaOH suggest the potential to improve the clinical performance of dental implants.