Magnesium and Zinc Co‐Functionalized Nano‐Structured Titania Surfaces Over Titanium Implants for Enhanced In Vitro and In Vivo Performance

The current study presents the development of a biomimetic multifunctional nano-titania interface over Ti metal with co-functionalization of Magnesium (Mg) and Zinc (Zn) ions by a simple chemical treatment approach for improved surface and biological performance. The incorporation of Mg-Zn-enriched surfaces is evaluated by EDX, XPS, and HR-TEM, while the exhibited roughness, hydrophilicity, and phase are assessed by AFM, water contact angle and Raman spectroscopy. The modified surface with Mg-Zn incorporation has exhibited notable antibacterial activity toward gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli, as observed by the direct contact method and the live-dead assay. The in vitro studies using MG-63 cells substantiated the cell adhesion, viability, mitochondrial potential, genotoxic stress, and extracellular mineralization as assessed by cytoskeletal evaluation, live-dead assay, JC1 assay, comet assay, and ARS staining. In vivo rat model studies using 3D printed porous Ti implant with surface functionalization revealed new bone formation and bone-to-implant contact with improved osteogenesis, evidenced by X-ray images, micro CT, and RT-PCR. Altogether, these findings highlight the scalable potential of Mg-Zn functionalized nanotitania network to improve the overall performance of 3D-printed Ti implants for biomedical applications.