Bionanocomposite Films atop Titanium Alloys

Some degenerative and inflammatory bone diseases and disorders, including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, develop to the point of necessitating bone replacement in adults. As such, the engineering of metallic bone implants has surfaced as a prominent area of research. A significant challenge with this research is how to mimic the osteochondral interface to allow better integration of the implant with the native tissue. One approach is the coating of metallic implants with interfacial nanomaterials to promote cell growth. The goal of our work is to improve osseointegration and assess the influence of film composition on the behavior of cell types relevant for osteochondral tissue engineering by using the organic polymer, chitosan (Cs), and the inorganic clay, Laponite™ (Lap), as interfacial films on titanium alloy substrates. More specifically, we have examined the effect of varying Cs to Lap ratio on morphology and area of human cell types. Cell types, like 3t3 fibroblasts, human mesenchymal stem cells, and human osteoblasts, were cultured and plated on the samples to be stained and imaged for comparison. Preliminary studies showed divergent behavior of the human cell types grown on both Cs and Cs/Lap films. These studies have informed ongoing work to improve the integration of bone implant materials at the osteochondral interface using nanocomposites.