Adhesion Kinetics of MC3T3-E1 Pre-Osteoblasts to Osteoconductive Porous Titanium Scaffolds
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Adhesion Kinetics of MC3T3-E1 Pre-Osteoblasts to Osteoconductive Porous Titanium Scaffolds Jean-Philippe St-Pierre1,2, Maxime Gauthier2, Louis-Philippe Lefebvre2, and Maryam Tabrizian1. 1 McGill University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Montreal, Canada. 2 National Research Council Canada, Industrial Materials Institute, Boucherville, Canada. ABSTRACT Porous metallic scaffolds have recently gained recognition as a promising avenue toward the regeneration of damaged bone structures. Interest in these materials resides in their ability to guide bone growth by presenting a favorable structure for cellular adhesion and threedimensional proliferation. A powder metallurgy process to fabricate titanium foams with favorable microstructural parameters for applications in bone engineering has recently been developed. This study assesses the potential of this novel material for applications as an osteoconductive scaffold through in vitro characterization of early cellular interactions with titanium foams having pore sizes ranging from 167 to 500 µm. The foams exhibit no cytotoxic effects on J774 mouse macrophages while favoring adhesion and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. Three-dimensional morphology assumed by these cells on porous titanium suggests that the microstructure of the foams is biomimetic. INTRODUCTION Porous metals have been employed for more than 30 years in the field of orthopedics as implant coatings to ensure a stable fixation through bone ingrowth. Conventional approaches to the fabrication of such porous coatings include bead and fiber sintering [1,2] and plasma-spray technologies [3]. Recently, a shift has been witnessed in the design of such biomaterials toward the fabrication of highly porous metals with microstructural parameters that facilitate bone regeneration [4,5]. In addition to conventional applications as porous coatings, these innovative materials have generated interest in related fields such as craniofacial reconstruction. Highly porous titanium foams with a unique and adjustable microstructure produced through a novel powder metallurgy process contribute to this trend [6]. The present study aims to assess the biocompatibility of these titanium foams through cellular viability and adhesion assays. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Scaffold preparation and characterization Titanium scaffolds with three pore sizes, referred to as TiA, TiB and TiC (from smaller to larger pore size) were prepared using a process previously described [7]. Foams were subsequently machined into small discs (12.5 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness) and sintered at 1300°C for 2 hours. The resulting microstructure of these titanium foams is shown in Figure 1. Controls were prepared by polishing dense titanium and nickel discs (referred to as TiP and NiP respectively) of similar dimensions to a mirror-finish (0.04 µm) with an automatic polisher (AbraPol, Struers). Before cell culture assays, porous samples and controls were cleaned by 15 minute sonication cycles in soapy water, isopropanol and de-ionized water
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