The Effects of Sterilization Treatments on Adhesion of Bone Cells to Titanium

The effects of surface preparation and sterilization treatments of cpTi on in vitro osteoblast cell attachment were investigated. Surface characterization by XPS and AES and determination of wetting angles indicated that sterilization by exposure to ultraviolet light or gamma irradiation resulted in highly energetic, relatively contaminant-free cpTi surfaces which supported high levels of osteoblast cell attachment. Steam autoclaving, however, resulted in relatively low energy surfaces with high levels of O-C-and N-containing contaminants. Other inorganic contaminants were also detected on the surface of selected samples. As a result, steam-autoclaved surfaces supported significantly lower levels of cell attachment. At 2 hours after initial attachment, the osteoblast cells failed to spread and integrate onto the surfaces sterilized by steam autoclaving. These results confirm previous studies regarding the contamination resulting from steam autoclaving and indicate that non-contaminating sterilization procedures should be employed for the sterilization of commercial metallic implant materials.