Femtosecond Lasers Induced Micropatterns on Magnesium Alloy to Promote Cell Proliferation

Femtosecond lasers were used to prepare micropatterns on AZ31B magnesium alloy. The study shows that hierarchical roughness structures formed by strips, holes, micro-particles and nanoparticles are generated on the surface after femtosecond laser treatments. The contact angle is decreased to 15 degrees after the femtosecond laser treatment with a fluence of 0.64 J/cm(2). MgAl2O4 and Al2O3 were produced during the femtosecond laser processing, which increases the corrosion potentials of the alloys. In vitro cell culture test indicates that MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells grow faster on the samples treated by femtosecond lasers, especially with the laser fluence of 0.64 J/cm(2), suggesting that micropatterns formed by femtosecond lasers are favorable for osteoblastic cell proliferation.