In vitro biocompatibility of a new titanium-29niobium-13tantalum-4.6zirconium alloy with osteoblast-like MG63 cells

BACKGROUND: Titanium-29niobium-13tantalum-4.6zirconium (TiNb) has recently been developed as a new implant material. TiNb is composed of non-toxic elements and has a lower modulus of elasticity than the other titanium alloys. However, its biocompatibility has not been adequately characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of TiNb using an osteoblast-titanium co-culture system. METHODS: MG63 cells were cultured on three kinds of titanium disks: TiNb, pure titanium (pTi), and titanium-6aluminum-4vanadium (TiAl), prepared with two different surfaces, a polished and acid-etched surface and a machined-grooved surface. The surface topography and roughness were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After 48 hours culture, the number of proliferating cells and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in the culture supernatant were determined. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in surface roughness among the three titanium disks with a polished and acid-etched surface. After 48 hours of culture, the number of cells was significantly reduced on pTi and TiAl compared to TiNb and the control. PGE2 production was significantly higher on pTi than on TiAl, TiNb, and the control. We further examined the effect of surface roughness on PGE2 production using machine-grooved titanium disks. While pTi and TiAl stimulated the production of PGE2 depending on surface roughness, roughened TiNb did not affect PGE2 production. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that TiNb may exhibit favorable biocompatibility because it has an efficient surface topography for cell proliferation, and the level of PGE2 production does not depend on surface roughness. We conclude that TiNb may be useful as an implant material.