Zinc and Strontium‐Doped Titania Nanotube Surfaces Enhance Antibacterial Activity and Increase Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Bone is one of the critical tissues in the body as injury to it determines the quality of life for the patients. Orthopedic implants are surgical interventions which aid in maintaining the quality of life; however, bacterial infections and poor osseointegration result in implant failure which lead to revision surgeries and complications. Implant surface modifications prevent implant failures by preventing bacteria adhesion on the surfaces and encouraging cell adhesion and growth, hence leading to improved osseointegration. In this study, titanium surfaces are modified to fabricate titania nanotubes on the surfaces, and then these nanotube surfaces are doped simultaneously with zinc and strontium. Biocompatibility and antibacterial activity for these surfaces is evaluated through osteogenic differentiation of adipose derived stem cells and growth inhibition of gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria, respectively. The results show that these modified titanium surfaces demonstrate significantly reduced bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation as compared with unmodified titanium and enhance the osteogenic differentiation of adipose derived stem cells despite lower cell adhesion.