Femtosecond laser microstructured Alumina toughened Zirconia: A new strategy to improve osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs

Abstract The use of topographic patterns has been a continuously growing area of research for tissue engineering and it is widely accepted that the surface topography of biomaterials can influence and modulate the initial biological response. Ultrafast lasers are extremely powerful tools to machine and pattern the surface of a wide range of biomaterials, however, only few work has been performed on ceramics with the intent of biomedical applications, and the biological characterization of these structured materials is scarce. In this work, relevance is given to the biological performance of such materials. A femtosecond laser ablation technique was used to modify Alumina toughened Zirconia (ATZ) surface topography, developing surfaces structured at the micro and nanoscale levels (μATZ), in a controlled and reproducible manner. Materials characterization was performed before and after laser treatment, and both materials were compared in terms of osteogenic response of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells cultured under basal conditions, expecting that the micro/nanofeatures will improve the biological response of cells. Cells metabolic activity and proliferation increased with the culture time and surface microtopography modulated cells alignment and guided proliferation. The modified surface, displayed significantly higher expression of osteogenic transcription factors and genes and, additionally, the formation of a mineralized extracellular matrix, when compared to the control surface, i.e. unmodified ATZ.