Regulation of the behaviors of mesenchymal stem cells by surface nanostructured titanium

The study describes the influence of surface nanostructured titanium substrates on the growth behaviors of mesenchymal stem cells. Surface nanostructures of titanium were produced with surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) technique. The morphologies of native titanium and surface nanostructured titanium substrates were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contact-angle measurements, respectively. A thin nanostructured layer was formed onto the surfaces of titanium substrates after SMAT treatment. The effects of the surface nanostructured titanium substrates on the adhesion, spreading, proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was examined at cellular and molecular levels in vitro. The results suggest that the surface nanostructured substrates were beneficial for the growth of MSCs, including adhesion, filament orientation, proliferation and gene expression. This approach for the fabrication of surface nanostructured titanium may be exploited in the development of high performance titanium-based implants.