A novel titania/calcium silicate hydrate hierarchical coating on titanium

• TiO2/CSH hierarchical coating is fabricated through MAO–HT treatment.
• The network of CSH nanoplates is similar to the nano-scale topography of bone during remodeling.
• The nucleation of CSH nanoplates follows a dissolution–precipitation mechanism.
• MAO–HTed coating exhibits a preference on FN adsorption compared to BSA.
• FN adsorption and MG-63 cell attachment are promoted on MAO–HTed coating.

Recently, surface micron/nano-topographical modifications have attracted a great deal of attention because it is capable of mimicking the hierarchical characteristics of bone. In the current work, a novel titania/calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) bi-layer coating with hierarchical surface topography was successfully prepared on titanium substrate through micro-arc oxidation (MAO) and subsequent hydrothermal treatment (HT). MAO treatment could lead to a micron-scale topographical surface with numerous crater-like protuberances. The subsequent HT process enables the in situ nucleation and growth of CSH nanoplates on MAO-fabricated titania surface. The nucleation of CSH nanoplates is considered to follow a dissolution–precipitation mechanism. Compared to MAO-fabricated coating with single-scale surface topography, MAO–HT-fabricated coating with hierarchical surface topography exhibits enhanced hydrophilicity, fibronectin adsorption and initial MG-63 cell attachment. The process of cell-material interactions is considered to be triggered by surface properties of the coated layer and indirectly mediated by protein adsorption on coating surface. These results suggest that MAO–HT treatment is an efficient way to prepare coatings with hierarchical surface topography on titanium surface, which is essential for altering protein adsorption and initial cell attachment.

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