Bioactive materials such as calcium phosphate ceramics and bioactive glasses enhance bone tissue formation and then bond to bone tissue. In our work, we question what particular surface feature or features of bioactive materials are responsible for the bone tissue response. In this study we have uncoupled surface charge from surface chemistry, energy, and topography and have examined osteoblast adhesion to titanium surfaces of varying surface charge. We have shown that a negative surface charge promotes osteoblast adhesion by approximately 60percent over a neutral surface and that conversely, a positive surface charge inhibits osteoblast adhesion by about 20percent. Continued examination of surface characteristics that control cellular responses are warranted with the eventual goal of applying those desirable surface characteristics to any structural biomaterial for bone implant or tissue engineering applications.
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