Enhanced cell growth by nanoengineering zirconia to stimulate electrostatic fibronectin activation.

We address the enhanced bone growth on designed nanocrystalline zirconia implants as reported by in vivo experiments. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the activation of adhesive proteins on nanoengineered zirconia stimulates cell adhesion and growth as shown by confocal microscopy. Fibrillar fibronectin (FN) forms a matrix assembly on the nanostructured surface in the cell adhesion process. We discuss the importance of FN dimer activation due to its immobilization on the designed nanocrystalline ZrO2 implant fabricated by ion beam assisted deposition. The Monte-Carlo analysis indicates that FN activation on the surface can be promoted by selective electrostatic interactions between negatively charged ZrO2 surface patches and oppositely charged FN domains.

Enhanced initial protein adsorption on engineered nanostructured cubic zirconia.

Motivated by experimentally-observed biocompatibility enhancement of nanoengineered cubic zirconia (ZrO(2)) coatings to mesenchymal stromal cells, we have carried out computational analysis of the initial immobilization of one known structural fragment of the adhesive protein (fibronectin) on the corresponding surface. We constructed an atomistic model of the ZrO(2) nano-hillock of 3-fold symmetry based on Atom Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy images. First principle quantum mechanical calculations show a substantial variation of electrostatic potential at the hillock due to the presence of surface features such as edges and vertexes. Using an implemented Monte Carlo simulated annealing method, we found the orientation of the immobilized protein on the ZrO(2) surface and the contribution of the amino acid residues from the protein sequence to the adsorption energy. Accounting for the variation of the dielectric permittivity at the protein-implant interface, we used a model distance-dependent dielectric function to describe the inter-atom electrostatic interactions in the adsorption potential. We found that the initial immobilization of the rigid protein fragment on the nanostructured pyramidal ZrO(2) surface is achieved with a magnitude of adsorption energy larger than that of the protein on the smooth (atomically flat) surface. The strong attractive electrostatic interactions are a major contributing factor in the enhanced adsorption at the nanostructured surface. In the case of adsorption on the flat, uncharged surface this factor is negligible. We show that the best electrostatic and steric fit of the protein to the inorganic surface corresponds to a minimum of the adsorption energy determined by the non-covalent interactions.