Abstract: Objective To comparatively evaluate the influences of sandblasting acid etched (SLA) titanium surface and double acid etched titanium surface on biological behaviors of osteoblasts. Methods Sandblasting acid-etching and double acid-etching were performed respectively on pure titanium surfaces. The pure titanium surface (Ti) was used as the control group; sandblasting acid etched surface (Ti-SLA) and double acid etched surface (Ti-DA) were used as two experiment groups. The micro-topography, wettability and elemental compositions of different titanium surfaces were observed and analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angel test and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded on the surface of samples of three groups to investigate the effects of different titanium surfaces on biological behaviors of osteoblasts. Results SEM observation showed that more uniform dense micro-porous structure formed on the Ti-DA surface compared with the Ti-SLA surface. There were no evident differences in surface contact angles among three different groups. XPS analysis revealed that trace aluminum element had remained on the Ti-SLA surface. Adhesion and proliferation abilities of osteoblasts on the surface of samples of three groups showed no obvious differences, while Ti-DA group significantly promoted osteoblast differentiation. Conclusion Compared with the SLA titanium surface, the double acid etched titanium surface exhibits more uniform dense micro-topography without aluminum residue, and effectively promotes osteoblast differentiation.

Key words: Titanium, Sandblasting acid-etching, Double acid-etching, Osteoblast