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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2012
Nanostructured surfaces have demonstrated extraordinary capacity to influence protein adsorption and cellular responses, although the mechanisms behind such capacity are still not clear to date. In the present study, the role of surface energy associated with nanostructured stiff surfaces in modulating fibronectin and consequently osteoblast (OB, bone forming cells) responses was investigated. Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and submicron crystalline diamond (SMCD) films with controllable surface energy were prepared by microwave-enhanced plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) techniques. Fibronectin adsorption on the diamond films with varied surface energy values was measured via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the relationship between the surface energy and fibronectin adsorption was studied. OB aggregates (each containing 30∼50 cells) on the NCD with varied surface energy values were also studied. The results indicated that fibronectin adsorption on nanostructured surfaces was closely related to both surface energy and material microstructures, and osteoblast spreading and migration on stiff nanosurfaces are surface energy-driven processes.