Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2012
We designed and produced pure cubic zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic1coatings by an ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) with nanostructurescomparable to the size of proteins. Our ceramic coatings exhibit highhardness and a zero contact angle with serum. In contrast to hydroxyapatite(HA), nano-engineered zirconia films possess excellent adhesion to allorthopaedic materials. Cell adhesion and proliferation experiments wereperformed with a bona fide mesenchymal stromal cell line (OMA-AD). Ourexperimental results indicate that the nano-engineered cubic zirconia issuperior in supporting growth, adhesion, and proliferation. Since cellattachment is mediated by adhesive proteins such as fibronectin (FN), toelucidate why cells attach more effectively to our nanostructures, weperformed a comparative analysis of adsorption energies of FN fragment usingquantum mechanical calculations and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation both onsmooth and nanostructured surfaces. We have found that a FN fragment adsorbssignificantly stronger on the nanostructured surface than on the smooth surface2.