Background
Modified titanium (Ti) substrates with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes have broad usage as implant surface treatments and as drug delivery systems.
Conclusion
We conclude that hydrogenated TNTs could greatly improve the loading capacity of bioactive molecules and MG-63 cell proliferation.
Methods
To improve drug-loading capacity and accelerate bone integration with titanium, in this study, we hydrogenated anodized titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs) by a thermal treatment. Three groups were examined, namely: hydrogenated TNTs (H2-TNTs, test), unmodified TNTs (air-TNTs, control), and Ti substrates (Ti, control).
Results
Our results showed that oxygen vacancies were present in all the nanotubes. The quantity of -OH groups greatly increased after hydrogenation. Furthermore, the protein adsorption and loading capacity of the H2-TNTs were considerably enhanced as compared with the properties of the air-TNTs (P<0.05). Additionally, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was used to investigate the interactions of TNTs with proteins. During the protein-loading process, the H2-TNTs not only enabled rapid protein adsorption, but also decreased the rate of protein elution compared with that of the air-TNTs. We found that the H2-TNTs exhibited better biocompatibility than the air-TNT and Ti groups. Both cell adhesion activity and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly improved toward MG-63 human osteoblast-like cells as compared with the control groups (P<0.05).