ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes the use of well controllednanostructuredtitania interfaces to enhance implant osseointegration. It argues that controlled nanoscale architectures can promote osteoblast differentiation and matrix production, and enhance short-term and long-term osseointegration. The fabrication routes of the titanianano-architectures are flexible and cost-effective, enabling realization of desired platform topologies and chemistries on existing orthepedic implants. Such control over the nanoscale interface can prove advantageous for a broad range of biomaterial applications. The motivation to use nanostructured surfaces for implants is physiologically driven. Human bone is assembled from nanoscale organic and mineral phases into larger hierarchical architectures. The fabricated nanotubulartitania surfaces were seeded with marrow stromal cells obtained from male Lewis rats. The development of nanostructured platforms based on novel metal-oxide films can provide insight into cell-material interactions for the development of improved implant surfaces. A goal of orthopedic biomaterials research is to design implants that induce controlled, guided, and rapid healing.
