Skeletal stem cell physiology on functionally distinct titania nanotopographies.

Functionalisation of the surface of orthopaedic implants with nanotopographies that could stimulate in situ osteogenic differentiation of the patient's stem or osteoprogenitor cells would have significant therapeutic potential. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) responses to titanium substrates patterned with nanopillar structures were investigated in this study. Focal adhesions were quantified in S-phase cells, the bone-related transcription factor Runx2 was examined, osteocalcin production was noted, and Haralick computational analysis was used to assess the relatedness of the cell responses to each of the titanium substrata based on cytoskeletal textural features.