Surface bioactivity modification of titanium by CO2 plasma treatment and induction of hydroxyapatite: In vitro and in vivo studies

Since metallic biomaterials used for orthopedic and dental implants possess a paucity of reactive functional groups, bioactivity modification of these materials is challenging. In the present work, the titanium discs and rods were treated with carbon dioxide plasma and then incubated in a modified simulated body fluid 1.5SBF to obtain a hydroxyapatite layer. Surface hydrophilicity of samples, changes of surface chemistry, surface morphologies of samples, and structural analysis of formed hydroxyapatite were investigated by contact angle to water, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrated that hydrophilicity of titanium surface was improved and hydroxyl groups increased after modification with carbon dioxide plasma treatment. The hydroxyl groups on the surface of titanium were the richest after carbon dioxide plasma treatment under the condition of 20 W for less than 30 s. The hydroxyapatite formability of titanium surface was enhanced by carbon dioxide plasma pretreatment, which was attributed to the surface chemistry. MC3T3-E1 cell as a model cell was cultured on the Ti, CPT-Ti and CPT/SBF-Ti discs in vitro, and the results of the morphology and differentiation of the cell showed that CPT/SBF-Ti was the highest bioactive. The relative parameters of the new bone around the Ti and CPT/SBF-Ti rods including bone mineral density (BMD), a ratio of bone volume to total volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th.) and trabecular number (Tb.N.) were analyzed by a micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) after 4-, 8- and 12-week implantation periods in vivo. The results indicated that the CPT/SBF-Ti was more advantageous for new bone formation.