Surface treatment of biomaterials could enable reliable and quick cellular responses and accelerate the healing of the host tissue. Here, a series of calcium phosphates (CaPs) were surface treated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the treatment effects were physicochemically and biologically evaluated. For this aim, as-synthesized CaPs doped with strontium (Sr2+), iron (Fe2+), silicon (Si4+), and titanium (Ti4+) ions were sonicated in H2O2 media. The results showed that the specific surface area and zeta potential values of the surface-treated CaPs were increased by ~50% and 25%, respectively. Moreover, the particle size and the band-gap (Eg) values of the surface-treated CaPs were decreased by ~25% and ~2-10%, respectively. The concentration of oxygen vacancies was increased in the surface-treated samples, which was confirmed by the result of ultraviolet (UV), photoluminescence (PL), Commission Internationale de l'éclairage (CIE 1931), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. In vitro cellular assessments of surface-treated CaPs exhibited an improvement in cytocompatibility, reactive oxygen species generation (ROS) capacity, bone nodule formation, and the migration of cells up to ~8%, 20%, 35%, and 13%, respectively. Based on the obtained data, it can be stated that improved physicochemical properties of H2O2-treated CaPs could increase the ROS generation and subsequently enhance the biological activities. In summary, the results demonstrate the notable effect of the H2O2 surface treatment method on improving surface properties and biological performance of CaPs.
Keywords: Calcium phosphates; Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)); Osteogenesis and angiogenesis; Oxygen vacancy defects; Reactive oxygen species (ROS); Surface treatment.
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