Effect of hierarchical pore structure on ALP expression of MC3T3-E1 cells on bioglass films

Hierarchical porous bioglass films on the tantalum were designed to enhance osteointegration of metallic implants. The films were prepared by a sol-gel method using P123 as the mesopore template and polystyrene microsphere as the nanopore template. The films with 5.4   nm mesopores and 100   nm nanopores (MBG-100) elicited an obviously elongated morphology of the cultured MC3T3-E1 cells, as a result, a higher alkaline phosphatase level was expressed. It is suggested that the nanopores play an important role in regulating cellular behavior by initial protein adsorption through nanopore curvatures. The mesopores were proven very effective for loading rhBMP-2, and the rhBMP-2 loaded on MBG-100 films showed a better function of enhancing osteogenic differentiation, which is attributed to that the nanopore structure could expedite rhBMP-2 release and provide a microenvironment for intensifying the interaction of rhBMP-2 with the cells. Hence, the cell osteogenic differentiation can be enhanced by hierarchical porous bioglass films through both the porous structure and rhBMP-2 induction.