Influence of nanohydroxyapatite patterns deposited by electrohydrodynamic spraying on osteoblast response

Electrohydrodynamic spraying has been used to produce patterns of line width up to 100 microm in size on glass discs, using nanohydroxyapatite (nHA). A human osteoblast (HOB)-like cell model was then used to study the interaction between the HOB cells and nHA patterns in vitro. Growth of the cells was significantly increased (p < 0.05) on the nHA surfaces. In addition, HOBs attached and spread well, secreting extracellular matrix. It was found that a confluent, aligned cell layer was achieved on nHA patterns by day 9. Immunofluorescent staining indicated that these cells showed elongated nuclei, enhanced adhesion (vinculin adhesion plaques) and a well-aligned cytoskeleton (actin stress fibres). This work suggests that this type of spraying may provide a route for the production of nanoscale features on implants for biomedical applications.