Titanium nanotubes stimulate osteoblast differentiation of stem cells from pulp and adipose tissue

Background: Titanium is the gold standard among materials used for prosthetic devices because of its good mechanical and chemical properties. When exposed to oxygen, titanium becomes an oxide, anatase that is biocompatible and able to induce osseointegration. Materials and Methods: In this study we compared the expression profiling of stem cells cultivated on two types of surface: Pure titanium disk and nanotube titanium disk in order to detect if nanotube titanium instead (NTD) surface stimulates stem cells towards osteoblast differentiation. Results: Stem cells cultivated on nanotube titanium disks showed the upregulation of bone-related genes RUNX2, FOSL1 and SPP1. Conclusions: Results demonstrated that nanotube titanium disk surface is more osteo-induced surface compared to titanium disk, promoting the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in osteoblasts.