In vitro Apatite Formation, Protein Adsorption and Initial Osteoblast Responses on Titanium Surface Enriched with Magnesium

A feasible treatment to modify titanium with Mg was carried out. Briefly, pure titanium was treated in condensed sodium hydroxide solution first and then transferred to diluted magnesium chloride solution to conduct ion exchange. After that, heat treatment was conducted and a nano-sized network containing magnesium titanate was obtained. Surface morphology, roughness, and chemical composition were characterized. In vitro apatite inducing ability was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as model to study protein adsorption. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured and initial cell attachment, morphology, proliferation were evaluated. Results show that compared with sodium (Na) modified surface, Mg immobilization accelerates apatite formation and promotes protein adsorption significantly. Besides, cell attachment is improved and cell spreading is enhanced on Mg-containing samples compared with Na containing samples. Increased early cellular attachment results in subsequent increase of number of proliferated cells on the Mg-containing surface.