Bioactivation of New Harmonic Titanium Alloy to Improve and Control Cellular Response and Differentiation

International audienceObjective: The purpose of this research article is to present the functionalization of a new titanium alloy of the system TiNbZr, by the grafting of a bioactive polymer (poly(sodium styrene sulfonate), PNaSS) using the “grafting from” technique to improve the osseointegration. The resulting grafted polymer is covalently bonded to the substrate in this procedure thanks to surface-induced polymerization.Material and Method: Colorimetric assay, Fourier-transform infrared spectra recorded in attenuated total reflection mode (ATR-FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and water contact angle measurements (WCA) were applied to characterize the surfaces. In addition, the effect of the grafting on the biological response was assessed using MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast cells line.Results: This study showed that grafting rates obtained on these new alloy are as good (around 4.5 μg/cm2) as on classical alloys. In parallel, in vitro biological response study was carried out to assess toxicity, cell viability, and morphology on titanium alloys TiNbZr functionalized. Moreover, results showed superior alkaline phosphatase activity and higher calcium deposition on grafted samples, implying a beneficial effect of the PNaSS in osteoinduction activity.Conclusions: Grafted TiNbZr improves the cell response, in particular, the osseointegration