Titanium is known as a good biomaterial for various medical applications. In the form of porous structures, it is used as a support for living cells. In order to assure cell adhesion and growth, various modifications have been applied to such titanium structures. It has been discovered that the contact of cells with materials of different morphology and chemistry results in a modification of a shape and bioactivity of the cells. However, the morphological and chemical factors responsible for a stable growth of cells are still not well known. The aim of the present work is to characterize in detail the chemical composition and morphology of titanium surfaces subjected to various environments. The modifications consisted in exposure of Ti to acidic or alkaline solutions. These modifications result in chemical and morphological changes of the Ti surface. The special attention has been paid to identify the factors influencing cell adhesion and growth.

Surface analytical techniques such as AES or XPS combined with Ar+ ion sputtering allowed to investigate the chemical composition of Ti oxide layer and examine the chemical properties of Ti surface after the chemical pre-treatments. SEM examinations provided morphological characterization of the Ti samples. The results show large differences in morphology of Ti pretreated with different procedures whereas only minor differences in the chemistry of the surfaces. The possible influence of various surface features on surface biocompatibility is discussed.