Enhanced Biological Response of AVS-Functionalized Ti-6Al-4V Alloy through Covalent Immobilization of Collagen

Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 20;8(1):3337. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-21685-3.

Abstract

This study presents the development of an efficient procedure for covalently immobilizing collagen molecules on AVS-functionalized Ti-6Al-4V samples, and the assessment of the survival and proliferation of cells cultured on these substrates. Activated Vapor Silanization (AVS) is a versatile functionalization technique that allows obtaining a high density of active amine groups on the surface. A procedure is presented to covalently bind collagen to the functional layer using EDC/NHS as cross-linker. The covalently bound collagen proteins are characterized by fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy and their stability is tested. The effect of the cross-linker concentration on the process is assessed. The concentration of the cross-linker is optimized and a reliable cleaning protocol is developed for the removal of the excess of carbodiimide from the samples. The results demonstrate that the covalent immobilization of collagen type I on Ti-6Al-4V substrates, using the optimized protocol, increases the number of viable cells present on the material. Consequently, AVS in combination with the carbodiimide chemistry appears as a robust method for the immobilization of proteins and, for the first time, it is shown that it can be used to enhance the biological response to the material.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alloys
  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Collagen / chemistry
  • Collagen / metabolism*
  • Materials Testing
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Silanes / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties
  • Titanium / chemistry*

Substances

  • Alloys
  • Silanes
  • titanium alloy (TiAl6V4)
  • Collagen
  • Titanium