Project Details
Projekt
Nanodiamond functionalized implant surfaces for vital soft tissue sealing
Subject Area
Biomaterials
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 459850162
Dental implants are a well established treatment option for the replacement of missing teeth. However, the soft tissue in the area of the abutment is susceptible to peri-implant mucositis caused by an adherent biofilm. As the inflammatory process progresses, peri-implantitis is associated with bone resorption and loss of osseointegration. In the transition area to the oral cavity, easy-to-clean surfaces should be sought to avoid matured biofilms. At the same time, a stable attachment of the soft tissue to the abutment prevents the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the periodontium. The aim of the proposed project is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the mutual influences of texturing, surface energy and surface chemistry aiming for superior properties of titanium surfaces with respect to biofilm formation as well as soft tissue sealing. For this purpose, specifically functionalized nanodiamonds, which are modified both in terms of their size and their surface chemistry, are partially integrated into titanium surfaces by anodic thickening of the oxide layers. The microbial and cell biological characterization is carried out under static as well as dynamic conditions with appropriate conditioning of the surfaces in order to simulate the conditions in the oral cavity as well as preventive cleaning measures. Using statistical design of experiments, matrices with different combinations of surface energy, surface chemistry and topography are generated and analyzed by multiple regression with respect to the parameters i) number of focal complexes, ii) cell size and iii) fibrin reorganization for adhesion of gingival fibroblasts or iv) live bacteria counts and v) biofilm mass for primary adhesion of relevant oral bacteria in mono or di-species cultures. Promising surface conditions will then be characterized in complex multi-species biofilm models and with regard to the barrier function of adherent gingival cells and the functionality of selected aspects of the human immune defense.Based on these mutually complementary findings, the comprehensive assessment of the influence of nanostructure parameters is possible for surfaces with identical surface chemistry and largely constant surface energy. It is expected that synergistic effects of nanostructures and chemical functionalization can be identified by the analysis of a variety of possible combinations. The utilization of nanodiamonds in the modification of titanium surfaces provides the opportunity for future modular systems with arbitrarily combinable properties or additional specific functionalization.
DFG Programme
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