Author(s)

Dai Yamamoto, Kazushi Arii, Kensuke Kuroda, Ryoichi Ichino, Masazumi Okido, Azusa Seki

Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
Hamri Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.

Surface hydrophilicity is considered to have a strong influence on the biological reactions of bone-substituting materials. However, the influence of a hydrophilic surface on osteoconductivity is not completely clear, especially for superhydrophilic surfaces. In this study, we conferred superhydrophilic properties on anodized TiO₂ coatings using a hydrothermal treatment, and developed a method to maintain this surface until implantation. The osteoconductivity of these coatings was evaluated with in vivo tests. A hydrothermal treatment made the surface of as-anodized samples more hydrophilic, up to a water contact angle of 13 (deg.). Storage in both air and distilled water increased the water contact angle after several days because of the adsorption of hydrocarbon. However, storage in phosphate buffered solution led to a reduction in the water contact angle, because of the adsorption of the inorganic ions in the solution, and the sample retained its high hydrophilicity for a long time. As the water contact angle decreased, the hard tissue formation ratio increased continuously up to 58%, which was about four times higher than the hard tissue formation ratio on as-polished Ti.

Titanium; Anodizing; Superhydrophilic; Hydrothermal Treatment; Phosphate Buffered Saline; Osteoconductivity

D. Yamamoto, K. Arii, K. Kuroda, R. Ichino, M. Okido and A. Seki, "Osteoconductivity of Superhydrophilic Anodized TiO₂ Coatings on Ti Treated with Hydrothermal Processes," Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2013, pp. 45-52. doi: 10.4236/jbnb.2013.41007.