Positive Effects of UV-Photofunctionalization of Titanium Oxide Surfaces on the Survival and Differentiation of Osteogenic Precursor Cells-An In Vitro Study

Marco Roy; Alessandro Corti; Barbara Dorocka-Bobkowska; Alfonso Pompella

doi:10.3390/jfb13040265

Positive Effects of UV-Photofunctionalization of Titanium Oxide Surfaces on the Survival and Differentiation of Osteogenic Precursor Cells-An In Vitro Study

J Funct Biomater. 2022 Nov 25;13(4):265. doi: 10.3390/jfb13040265.

Authors

Marco Roy¹, Alessandro Corti², Barbara Dorocka-Bobkowska¹, Alfonso Pompella²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Prosthodontics and Gerostomatology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-792 Poznan, Poland.
² Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa Medical School, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: The UVC-irradiation ("UV-photofunctionalization") of titanium dental implants has proved to be capable of removing carbon contamination and restoring the ability of titanium surfaces to attract cells involved in the process of osteointegration, thus significantly enhancing the biocompatibility of implants and favoring the post-operative healing process. To what extent the effect of UVC irradiation is dependent on the type or the topography of titanium used, is still not sufficiently established.

Objective: The present study was aimed at analyzing the effects of UV-photofunctionalization on the TiO₂ topography, as well as on the gene expression patterns and the biological activity of osteogenic cells, i.e., osteogenic precursors cultured in vitro in the presence of different titanium specimens.

Methodology: The analysis of the surface roughness was performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) on machined surface grade 2, and sand-blasted/acid-etched surface grades 2 and 4 titanium specimens. The expression of the genes related with the process of healing and osteogenesis was studied in the MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic murine cells, as well as in MSC murine stem cells, before and after exposure to differently treated TiO₂ surfaces.

Results: The AFM determinations showed that the surface topographies of titanium after the sand-blasting and acid-etching procedures, look very similar, independently of the grade of titanium. The UVC-irradiation of the TiO₂ surface was found to induce an increase in the cell survival, attachment and proliferation, which was positively correlated with an increased expression of the osteogenesis-related genes Runx2 and alkaline phosphatase (ALP).

Conclusion: Overall, our findings expand and further support the current view that UV-photofunctionalization can indeed restore biocompatibility and osteointegration of TiO₂ implants, and suggest that this at least in part occurs through a stimulation of the osteogenic differentiation of the precursor cells.

Keywords: AFM; ALP; Runx2; UV-photofunctionalization; implant osteointegration; titanium oxide.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland (Institutional funds). The APC was funded by University of Pisa, Italy (Institutional funds).