Evaluation of annealed titanium oxide nanotubes on titanium: From surface characterization to in vivo assays

The entire route from anodic oxidation and surface characterization, including in vitro experiments and finally in vivo osseointegration assays were performed with the aim to evaluate nanotubular and crystalline annealed titanium oxides as a suitable surface for grade 2 titanium permanent implants. Polished titanium (T0) was compared with anodized surfaces obtained in acidic media with fluoride, leading to an ordered nanotubular structure of titanium oxide on the metal surface, characterized by tube diameter of 89 ± 24 nm (Tnts). Samples were thermally treated in air (TntsTT) to increase the anatase crystalline phase on nanotubes, with minor alteration of the structure. Corrosion tests were performed to evaluate the electrochemical response after 1, 14, and 28 days of immersion in simulated body fluid. Based on the in vitro results, heat-treated titanium nanotubes (TntsTT) were selected as a promissory candidate to continue with the osseointegration in vivo assays. The in vivo results showed no major improvement in the osseointegration process when compared with untreated Ti after 30 days of implantation and there also was a lower increase in the development of new osseous tissue.Fil: Gomez Sanchez, Andrea Valeria. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; ArgentinaFil: Katunar, María R.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Pastore, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas en Electrónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas en Electrónica; ArgentinaFil: Tano de la Hoz, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Ceré, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

A comparative study of zirconium and titanium implants in rat: Osseointegration and bone material quality

Permanent metal implants are widely used in human medical treatments and orthopedics, for example as hip joint replacements. They are commonly made of titanium alloys and beyond the optimization of this established material, it is also essential to explore alternative implant materials in view of improved osseointegration. The aim of our study was to characterize the implant performance of zirconium in comparison to titanium implants. Zirconium implants have been characterized in a previous study concerning material properties and surface characteristics in vitro, such as oxide layer thickness and surface roughness. In the present study, we compare bone material quality around zirconium and titanium implants in terms of osseointegration and therefore characterized bone material properties in a rat model using a multi-method approach. We used light and electron microscopy, micro Raman spectroscopy, micro X-ray fluorescence and X-ray scattering techniques to investigate the osseointegration in terms of compositional and structural properties of the newly formed bone. Regarding the mineralization level, the mineral composition, and the alignment and order of the mineral particles, our results show that the maturity of the newly formed bone after 8 weeks of implantation is already very high. In conclusion, the bone material quality obtained for zirconium implants is at least as good as for titanium. It seems that the zirconium implants can be a good candidate for using as permanent metal prosthesis for orthopedic treatmentsFil: Hoerth, Rebecca M.. Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. Department of Biomaterials; Alemania. Berlin-Brandenburg School of Regenerative Therapies; AlemaniaFil: Katunar, Maria Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación En Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Gomez Sanchez, Andrea Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación En Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Orellano, Juan C.. Hospital Interzonal General de Agudos ‘‘Oscar Alende’’; ArgentinaFil: Cere, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación En Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Wagermaier, Wolfgang. Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. Department of Biomaterials; AlemaniaFil: Ballarre, Josefina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación En Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentin

Maternal Separation Impairs Cocaine-Induced Behavioural Sensitization in Adolescent Mice

Adverse early-life conditions induce persistent disturbances that give rise to negative emotional states. Therefore, early life stress confers increased vulnerability to substance use disorders, mainly during adolescence as the brain is still developing. In this study, we investigated the consequences of maternal separation, a model of maternal neglect, on the psychotropic effects of cocaine and the neuroplasticity of the dopaminergic system. Our results show that mice exposed to maternal separation displayed attenuated behavioural sensitization, while no changes were found in the rewarding effects of cocaine in the conditioned place preference paradigm and in the reinforcing effects of cocaine in the self-administration paradigm. The evaluation of neuroplasticity in the striatal dopaminergic pathways revealed that mice exposed to maternal separation exhibited decreased protein expression levels of D2 receptors and increased levels of the transcriptional factor Nurr1. Furthermore, animals exposed to maternal separation and treated with cocaine exhibited increased DA turnover and protein expression levels of DAT and D2R, while decreased Nurr1 and Pitx3 protein expression levels were observed when compared with saline-treated mice. Taken together, our data demonstrate that maternal separation caused an impairment of cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization possibly due to a dysfunction of the dopaminergic system, a dysfunction that has been proposed as a factor of vulnerability for developing substance use disorders.This study was supported by UE MedBioinformatics project (Grant Agreement Number: 634143), MINECO (SAF2013-41761-R-FEDER and SAF2013-49076-P-FEDER), Spanish Ministry of Health (Retic-ISCIII-RD/12/0028/0024-FEDER and RETICS-ISCIII-RD 12/0028/003-FEDER and Plan Nacional sobre Drogas 2014/020), Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR34) and Fundación Séneca (15405/PI/10), Región de Murcia. IG-R was funded by FPI fellowship BES-2011-046655 associated to SAF2010-15793