Cell behaviors on surface of pure tantalum with nano‐dimpled structure

Abstract Tantalum exhibits excellent biocompatibility and good chemical stability, which has been employed in dental and orthopedic applications. The local microenvironment of the surface of implants influence determines the surrounding cell responses. In this work, nano‐dimpled structure on the surface of pure tantalum was fabricated by electrochemical anodization. The surface morphology of the nano‐dimpled structure was observed, and the dimensions of the nano‐dimpled structure were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface roughness of the sample with nano‐dimpled structure was measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the diameter of nano‐dimpled ranges from 40 to 180 nm, and the higher the applied voltage, the larger the diameter. Moreover, nano‐dimpled structure has good hydrophilicity. In vitro results show that nano‐dimpled structure can promote the adhesion and proliferation of mouse cranial anterior bone (MC‐3T3‐E1) cells. The filopodia of MC‐3T3‐E1 cells can be fully extended on this nano‐dimpled structure. On the surface of the nano‐dimpled structure with a dimple size of 40 nm, the cells have the longest aspect ratio. The small dimple size of the nano‐dimpled structure is beneficial to cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation.