Bioactivity of surface modified porous titanium

Abstract

Solid metals have previously been widely used for implant fabrication in the replacement of human hard tissues. For the implant-bone interface bonding newer materials are now-a-days being introduced with porosity. With tissue ingrowth into the porous structure of the implant this bonding has subsequently been enhanced. Pore interconnectivity facilitates extensive body fluid transport through the metallic implants. In this present study, porous titanium samples with interconnected 3D pores were taken for various surface chemical treatments that will enhance the surface chemistry and topology. Ti-samples were subjected to alkali, dual acid, citric acid and fluoride treatment to study the role of surface modified titanium in in-vitro bioactivity and protein adhesion. Porosity measurement being a vital parameter was also calculated with the surface porosity (optical microscope) being 41.36% and the bulk porosity (Archimedes’ Principle) as 50.347%. XRD analysis shows the diffraction pattern of the samples corresponding to titanium with the absence of any new phase owing to a chemical treatment. Both the sets of samples were characterized before and after immersing in SBF for 4 weeks. The sample treated with fluoride seemed to nucleate more as compared to others. Protein adsorption study was carried out with Bradford reagent using Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). The sample with alkali treatment showed maximum adsorption due to hydrolyzed surface enhancing protein adsorption. The results with improved properties of Ti make it a preferable potential use in tissue engineering.