Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is currently being used in implants as an alternative to titanium, due to its mechanical properties, cytocompatibility and inertness. Several studies have demonstrated that certain patterning on the implants promotes the oriented cell growth of osteoblasts, favouring the formation of bone tissue. This patterning improves the implant's osteointegration in the bone and its mechanical stability. Therefore, the objective of this work is to micro-structure PEEK by laser radiation and to carry out an exhaustive study of the orientation of pre-osteoblast cells that grow on this material. Parallel microgrooves were obtained using an ArF excimer laser coupled with a mask projection unit with distances of 25, 50, 75 and 100 µm between grooves. The cell growth on these PEEK surfaces was studied, in order to compare the effect of different distances between grooves on the biological response of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells. Preferential cell orientation was observed for all studied distances, which was more pronounced in the 25 and 50 µm ones.

The mineral family of apatites presents the property of being able to incorporate a variety of ions and compounds into its structure [2]. Hydroxyapatite, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 (HA), is a member of the apatites group which has been investigated extensively as a biomaterial due to its resemblance to the inorganic phase of bone. The growing evidence of the beneficial role of different ions (Si, Se, Mg, K, Na, F, Sr, ...) in bone tissue has increased the interest of developing ion doped apatites for medical applications, and specifically biocompatible coatings that can be deposited on metallic implants to benefit from their loadbearing capabilities, protection against the release of metal ions into the body and improvement of the implant fixation to hard tissues.

Polymer meshes have recently attracted great attention due to their great variety of applications in fields such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning giving rise to porous meshes. However, for some applications in tissue engineering where, for instance, cell migration into the inner regions of the mesh is aimed, the pore size obtained by conventional techniques is too narrow. To improve the pore size, laser irradiation with femtosecond pulses (i.e., negligible heat diffusion into the polymer material and confined excitation energy) is performed. A detailed study of the influence of the pulse energy, pulse length, and number of pulses on the topography of electrospun fiber meshes has been carried out, and the irradiated areas have been studied by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurements and spectroscopic techniques. The results show that using the optimal laser parameters, micropores are formed and the nature of the fibers is preserved. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.