In vitro study of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy surface modified with RGD peptide

For implant materials, bioactivity is an important factor in achieving favorable osseointegration. A β-type Ti-25Nb-8Sn alloy with a low Young's modulus is used in this study. In order to improve the bioactivity of Ti-25Nb-8Sn alloy, the surface of the specimens used in this study was modified by immobilizing a RGD peptide. After alkaline treatment, the surface of the Ti-25Nb-8Sn substrate exhibited a micro-network structure. XRD analysis found that this structure was sodium titanate (Na2Ti5O11). FTIR analysis confirmed that the surface of the micro-networked Ti-25Nb-8Sn alloy can be grafted with RGD peptide using covalent binding. The MTT activity assay showed that there is higher bioactivity on the surface of the RGD peptide-grafted Ti-25Nb-8Sn, and SEM observations showed that the presence of RGD on the surface of the alloy could improve cell adhesion. In this study, the biomimetic modification of Ti-25Nb-8Sn alloy using RGD peptide has been demonstrated to produce superior biocompatibility.