Polydopamine Coating on Titanium Affects Osteoblastic Differentiation to a Greater Degree than Does Surface Roughness

Biointerface design can greatly influence cell behavior. Therefore, in this study we examined the effects of three surface characteristics, roughness, chemistry, and wettability, on osteoblastic cell differentiation. We examined osteoblastic differentiation on titanium (Ti) samples with four levels of roughness (average roughness: 148.6 ± 23.1, 42 ± 6.2, 14.3 ± 5.5, 7.2 ± 1.6 nm) with or without a nanolayer coating of polydopamine (PDA). In vitro osteogenic differentiation was evaluated by quantifying alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity of human fetal preosteoblastic (hFOB 1.19) cells. The change in surface chemistry of Ti samples as a result of PDA coating was assessed by XPS analysis and water contact angle measurement. Results demonstrated that PDA treated samples were more hydrophilic, compared to untreated samples, and this was substrate roughness independent. Moreover, with the exception of the substrate with an oriented texture of surface nanotopography (RTi-4), the presence of a PDA nanolayer increased AP activity independent of substrate roughness. Our results suggest that surface chemistry and wettability, induced by a PDA nanolayer coating, had a greater effect on osteoblastic differentiation than did surface roughness.