Chondrogenic Cellular Responses to Titanium and Zirconium Alloys in Vitro

Abstract

Titanium chloride (T1CI₄) and zirconium chloride (ZrCr₄) were assayed by the limb bud (LB) cell chondrogenesis system. The former inhibited the differentiation of LB cells more than the latter. When LB cells were cultured on pure Ti, pure Zr, and Ti/Zr (1:1) alloys, differentiation of LB cells on pure Ti was inhibited most potently among these plates, and its inhibitory extent was 30% of the controls. In addition, titanium oxide (T1O₂), the oxidized surface of Ti, hardly inhibited the cell differentiation and proliferation under our experimental conditions. From these results, it can be seen that Ti ion may be released from pure Ti by the direct cell/material interaction more than from Ti/Zr alloy, which inhibits chondrogenesis.