Bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells were seeded in serum-free media onto ion beam-deposited nanostructured metalloceramic (Ti-Cr-N) films and plasma-nitrided titanium disks, which were left uncoated as well as precoated with fetal bovine serum. Precoating the disks with serum appears to stimulate cell spreading on both the titanium nitride and metalloceramic materials for as little as 1 hour incubation time. The implication is that both of these materials can adsorb serum proteins in amounts sufficient to influence cell adhesion and spreading for potentially improved in vivo response of orthopedic and dental implants. The materials in this study may prove to exhibit enhanced biological and mechanical properties when compared to conventional micron-scale implant materials such as titanium or cobalt-chrome alloys.