In this study, titania and hydroxyapatite nanopowder mixtures are deposited on medical grade titanium substrates by HVOF spraying. To assess bioperformance, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were cultured from 1 to 21 days on the surface of HVOF-sprayed TiO2 and TiO2-HA samples. Plasma sprayed HA and uncoated Ti-6Al-4V substrates were used as controls. The active cultures were evaluated for cell proliferation, cytoskeleton organization, and cell-substrate interaction. The results for HVOF-sprayed TiO2-HA nanocomposite coatings show strong evidence of bone growth, proliferation, and attachment with cell-substrate interaction levels superior to those of air plasma sprayed HA coatings. Although there are no clear explanations for this favorable behavior, the topography and chemical composition of the surface of the coating appear to be playing important roles.

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