INTRODUCTIONTitanium (Ti) and its alloys have been used in dentistry as implant materials because of their good mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance, and low cytotoxicity. However, their poor bone fusion properties limit their clinical applications 1) . Various techniques have been explored to modify the surfaces of Ti and its alloys to improve their osseointegration, including plasma spraying, sol-gel method, and electrochemical deposition [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] . Among these modification methods, micro-arc oxidation (MAO) has attracted special attention since it is a relatively convenient and effective technique for depositing oxide coatings on the surfaces of nonferrous metals [9][10][11][12] . More importantly, by using this technique, various desired elements can be introduced into the coated layers with porous structures 11) , such as calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and strontium (Sr), which are trace elements in the human body playing a significant role in bone formation.Sr is considered a bioactive element that improves implant osseointegration. As was previously reported, Sr ions have been shown to enhance bone collagen synthesis and decrease bone resorption by inhibiting osteoclast resorbing activity [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . Therefore, it is expected that a local release of Sr ions from implant surfaces would directly improve implant osseointegration.Since our previous studies have shown that MAO is a promising method to produce porous and firmly adherent bone formation concerned elements contained oxide deposition layers on metal substrates 11) , it is easy to optimize the Sr amounts introduced into the oxide deposition layers by altering MAO electrolyte compositions. Moreover, except for the first several days, a long-term stable release of metallic ions from the oxide deposition layers can be achieved by using the microporous structures formed during the MAO process 8) . In this study, Ti surfaces were modified by MAO using electrolytes with different Sr concentrations to promote calcification of preosteoblasts. Morphologies and elemental compositions of the surfaces as well as cross-sections of the Ti specimens obtained with and without MAO were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). A mouse preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 was utilized to study the calcification effect of Sr contents in the MAO-deposited layers on the Ti substrates in vitro. Osteogenic differentiation and calcified depositions of the MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on all specimens were evaluated using alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay and alizarin red s staining, respectively.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Ti substrate preparationCommercially pure Ti discs (grade 2, 8 mmφ×2.0 mm in thickness, Rare Metallic, Tokyo, Japan) were used in this study. Before the MAO treatment, Ti discs were mechanically polished with up to #800-grid SiC abrasive paper and then ultrasonically rinsed in acetone and ethanol. The obtained specimens (not subjected to...