Recent research has shown that diamond is a promising orthopedic biomaterial due to its excellent tribological and biocompatibility properties. Our previous research revealed that the adhesion of osteoblasts (bone forming cells) varies on different types of diamond surfaces. An approach to promote osteoblast functions by manipulating diamond topography is introduced in the present work. Three kinds of diamond with different crystallinity and microstructure (i.e., micron-crystallized diamond (MD), nano-crystallized diamond with spherical grains (NDs) and a mixture of diamond and amorphous carbon with nano platelet grains (NDp)) were fabricated and studied here. Topographical features of diamond were determined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and indicated that factors such as roughness, geometric and projected area ratios, and local height gradients contributed to altered contact angles and osteoblast adhesion. In summary, the results of this in vitro study suggested that nano diamond (if created appropriately) could promote (such as at the hip implant stem) or inhibit (such as at articulating surface) osteoblast adhesion necessary for improving orthopedic implant efficacy.

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