Establishment of validation methods to test the biocompatibility of titanium dioxide

Most of biomaterials come in direct contact with the body, making standardized methods of evaluation and validation of biocompatibility an important aspect to biomaterial development. However, biomaterial validation guidelines have not been fully established, until now. This study was to compare the in vitro behavior of osteoblasts cultured on nanomaterial TiO2 surfaces to osteoblast behavior on culture plates. Comparisons were also made to cells grown in conditioned media (CM) that creates an environment similar to the in vivo environment. Comparisons were made between the different growth conditions for osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and functionality. We found that the in vivo-like system of growing cells in concentrated CM provided a good validation method for biomaterial development and in vivo implant therapy. The TiO2 materials were biocompatible, showing similar behavior to that observed in vivo. This study provided valuable information that would aid in the creation of guidelines into standardization and evaluation of biocompatibility in TiO2 biomaterials.