Abstract
Osteosarcoma is one of the major bone cancers, especially for youngsters. The current treatment usually requires systemic chemotherapy and the removal of bone tumors. Titanium (Ti)-based implants can be modified as local drug delivery (LDD) systems for controllable and localized chemotherapeutic drug release. In this work, a pH-responsive Ti-based LDD prototype was designed by introducing polydopamine (PDA) to release doxorubicin (DOX) around osteosarcoma cells with low pH. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a contact angle meter were applied for surface characterization. Both direct and indirect cell culture modes were performed for biocompatibility and biofunction assessments. The results indicate that the Ti-based LDD prototype exhibits significant pH-dependent DOX release. The cumulative release can reach up to approximately 40% at pH = 6.0 after 72 h, but only around 20% at pH = 7.4. The Ti-based LDD implant shows good biocompatibility with approximately 93% viability of MC3T3 cells after direct culture in vitro for 24 h. Both direct and indirect culture modes verify the good anti-osteosarcoma function of the LDD implant, which should be attributed to the pH-responsive release of DOX.