Short-term in vitro responses of human peripheral blood monocytes to ferritic stainless steel fiber networks.

Beneficial effects on bone-implant bonding may accrue from ferromagnetic fiber networks on implants which can deform in vivo inducing controlled levels of mechanical strain directly in growing bone. This approach requires ferromagnetic fibers that can be implanted in vivo without stimulating undue inflammatory cell responses or cytotoxicity. This study examines the short-term in vitro responses, including attachment, viability, and inflammatory stimulation, of human peripheral blood monocytes to 444 ferritic stainless steel fiber networks. Two types of 444 networks, differing in fiber cross section and thus surface area, were considered alongside austenitic stainless steel fiber networks, made of 316L, a widely established implant material. Similar high percent seeding efficiencies were measured by CyQuant® on all fiber networks after 48 h of cell culture. Extensive cell attachment was confirmed by fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, which showed round monocytes attached at various depths into the fiber networks. Medium concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were determined as indicators of viability and inflammatory responses, respectively. Percent LDH concentrations were similar for both 444 fiber networks at all time points, whereas significantly lower than those of 316L control networks at 24 h. All networks elicited low-level secretions of TNF-α, which were significantly lower than that of the positive control wells containing zymosan. Collectively, the results indicate that 444 networks produce comparable responses to medical implant grade 316L networks and are able to support human peripheral blood monocytes in short-term in vitro cultures without inducing significant inflammatory or cytotoxic effects.