119c Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Coatings Stimulate Osteoblast Attachment to Cp-Ti

Jacob G. Dickinson1, Jacob P. Lyons1, Michael J. Misovich1, Andre Y. Lee2, and Melissa J. Baumann2. (1) Engineering, Hope College, 27 Graves Pl, Holland, MI 49422-9000, (2) Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Michigan State University, 2527 Engineering Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1226

Given that the number of total joint replacements will increase with an aging population, along with a concomitant rise in joint revision surgeries that is expected to double within the next 20 years, there is an immediate need for improved bonding and fixation between bone and orthopaedic implant surfaces. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) trisilanols have been used as a dental restorative material and for contact lenses but have yet to be utilized in conjunction with implants in contact with bone and soft tissue. We hypothesize that osteoblast (OB) attachment to commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) will be enhanced by a structurally robust trisilanol POSS surface coating. The dip coating method was used to apply the trisilanol POSS coatings onto commercially pure Ti (cp-Ti) surfaces that had received an industry standard surface cleaning. Osteoblast attachment and Live/Dead assay tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the trisilanol POSS coating. It was found that cp-Ti coated with trisilanol POSS showed a statistically significant increase in OB attachment over uncoated cp-Ti controls as a function of POSS coating exposure times of 1, 10 and 100 minutes and attachment times of 1, 2 and 4 hours. This increased attachment is also statistically significantly greater than the cell attachment data reported by the manufacturer for trisilanol POSS coated cp-Ti which did not receive the industry standard cleaning treatment. Live/Dead assay results showed no statistically significant increase in cell death with trisilanol POSS coating.