Antifouling surfaces with spatially alternating interfacial properties

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Christian Hannig; Professor Dr. Matthias Hannig; Dr. Ralf Helbig
• Subject Area: Dentistry, Oral Surgery ; Biomaterials ; Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 403577877

• Final Report Year: 2022

Final Report Abstract

Microbial colonization on restorative dental materials reduces the lifespan of these medical products and often leads to secondary diseases like secondary caries or periimplantitis. Hence, there is strong demand for novel materials and strategies to reduce microbial colonization. In this project, textured surfaces with varying structure sizes and geometries were generated. Furthermore, biphasic surfaces with alternating physico-chemical properties in a nanoscale were manufactured. These surfaces were exposed for varying periods to the oral cavity and microbial colonization was evaluated. Furthermore, the acquired oral pellicle was examined by electron microscopy. Textured surfaces (lines, holes and pillar structures) with a size of 0.7-4.5 µm and a distance of 0.7-130.5 µm composed of perfluorpolyether did not influence microbial colonization significantly compared to even surfaces. A basal pellicle was formed rather uniformly on all of these surfaces, but a thicker more globular pellicle layer was more pronounced in recessed areas. Biphasic surfaces with alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces properties in a distance of 50 nm significantly reduced biofilm formation in the oral cavity after 8 h compared to the respective monophasic surfaces. A stronger contrast of surface energies thereby correlated with a stronger influence on biofilm formation. However, the influence of the biphasic surfaces on bacterial colonization diminished after prolonged incubation times (26 h). In summary, we could develop a new approach for the manufacturing of novel surfaces for the oral cavity that can reduce bacterial colonization over several hours. The present study underlines the relevance of in-situ-experiments when investigating dental materials.

Publications

• Bioadhesion in the oral cavity and approaches for biofilm management by surface modifications. Clinical Oral Investigations, 24(12), 4237-4260.
  Sterzenbach, Torsten; Helbig, Ralf; Hannig, Christian & Hannig, Matthias
  
• Multicolor Patterning of 2D Semiconductor Nanoplatelets. ACS Nano, 15(11), 17623-17634.
  Samadi Khoshkhoo, Mahdi; Prudnikau, Anatol; Chashmejahanbin, Mohammad Reza; Helbig, Ralf; Lesnyak, Vladimir & Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
  
• Bioadhesion on Textured Interfaces in the Human Oral Cavity—An In Situ Study. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(3), 1157.
  Helbig, Ralf; Hannig, Matthias; Basche, Sabine; Ortgies, Janis; Killge, Sebastian; Hannig, Christian & Sterzenbach, Torsten