Effect of hydroxyapatite surface morphology on cell adhesion.

We obtained hydroxyapatite (HAp) materials as a block by mixing HAp nanoparticles and polymer, and then calcining the mixtures. The surface morphology of the HAp materials was tuned by varying heat treatment conditions. After calcining the mixtures at 1200 or 800°C for 4h, the surface morphology of the HAp materials was flat or convexo-concave, respectively. The flat surface morphology, which showed micrometer-ordered grain boundaries, was formed by the aggregation of HAp nanoparticles. On the other hand, the convexo-concave surface morphology resulted from the agglomeration of HAp nanoparticles after heat treatment at 800°C for 4h with nanometer-ordered particle size. We tested cell adhesion to HAp materials with flat or convexo-concave surface morphology and found that cells adhered well to the flat HAp materials but not to the convexo-concave HAp materials. This technique for selectively preparing HAp materials with flat or convexo-concave surface morphology was very easy because we merely mixed commercial HAp nanoparticles with polymer and then calcined the mixtures. As a result, the heat treatment temperature affected the surface morphology of our HAp materials, and their surface morphologies contributed to cell adhesion independently of other material properties.