Osteoblastic cell response on biphasic fluorhydroxyapatite/strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite coatings.

Fluorhydroxyapatite/strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite (FHA/SrHA) biphasic coatings with F and Sr elements incorporated simultaneously into one coating layer were prepared on titanium substrate via colloidal sol-gel method. The bioactivity of the as-prepared FHA/SrHA biphasic coatings was evaluated in vitro by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). All the biphasic coatings exhibited great ability to induce apatite precipitation on their surfaces. In vitro cell responses were evaluated using osteoblast-like MG63 cells in terms of cell proliferation and differentiation (alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin level). The biphasic coatings show significantly positive effects on the viability and functional activity of osteoblastic cells with clear evidence that an optimum SrHA amount dose exists, indicating that the coexistence of FHA and SrHA had a synergistic stimulatory effect. This finding suggests the potential use of this colloidal sol-gel derived FHA/SrHA biphasic coatings for hard tissue applications.