A bioactive polymer grafted on titanium oxide layer obtained by electrochemical oxidation. Improvement of cell response.

The anchorage failure of titanium implants in human body is mainly due to biointegration problem. The proposed solution is to graft a bioactive polymer at the surface of the implant in order to improve and control the interactions with the living system. In this paper, we describe the grafting of poly sodium styrene sulfonate on titanium surface by using a silanization reaction. The key point is to increase the TiOH content at the surface of the implant which can react with methoxy silane groups of 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS). Two procedures were used: chemical oxidation and electrochemical oxidation. The last oxidation procedure was carried out in two different electrolytes: oxalic acid and methanol. These different oxidation methods allow controlling the roughness and the depth of the oxide layer. The methacryloyl group of MPS grafted at the titanium surface by silanization reaction is copolymerized with sodium styrene sulfonate using a thermal initiator able to produce radicals by heating. Colorimetric method, ATR-FTIR, XPS techniques and contact angle measurements were applied to characterize the surfaces. MG63 osteoblastic cell response was studied on polished, oxidized and grafted titanium samples. Cell adhesion, Alkaline Phosphatase activity and calcium nodules formation were significantly enhanced on grafted titanium surfaces compared to un-modified surfaces.