In vitro performance assessment of new beta Ti–Mo–Nb alloy compositions

• Ti–Mo–Nb compositions show a fully β-microstructural state by XRD analysis.
• Similar osteoblast growth and differentiation is displayed by β-Ti alloys and cpTi.
• Ti–Mo–Nb alloys elicit a slightly lower inflammatory response than cpTi.

New β-titanium based alloys with low Young's modulus are currently required for the next generation of metallic implant materials to ensure good mechanical compatibility with bone. Several of these are representatives of the ternary Ti–Mo–Nb system. The aim of this paper is to assess the in vitro biological performance of five new low modulus alloy compositions, namely Ti12Mo, Ti4Mo32Nb, Ti6Mo24Nb, Ti8Mo16Nb and Ti10Mo8Nb. Commercially pure titanium (cpTi) was used as a reference material. Comparative studies of cell activity exhibited by MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts over short- and long-term culture periods demonstrated that these newly-developed metallic substrates exhibited an increased biocompatibility in terms of osteoblast proliferation, collagen production and extracellular matrix mineralization. Furthermore, all analyzed biomaterials elicited an almost identical cell response. Considering that macrophages play a pivotal role in bone remodeling, the behavior of a monocyte-macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, was also investigated showing a slightly lower inflammatory response to Ti–Mo–Nb biomaterials as compared with cpTi. Thus, the biological performances together with the superior mechanical properties recommend these alloys for bone implant applications.