Data from Garner et al 2020 (06-2020)

Dental implants are an increasingly popular way to replace missing teeth. Whilst implant survival rates are high, a small number fail soon after placement, with various factors, including bacterial contamination, capable of disrupting osseointegration. This work describes the development of chlorhexidine hexametaphosphate coatings for titanium that hydrolyse to release the antiseptic agent chlorhexidine. The aim was to develop a coating for titanium that released sufficient chlorhexidine to prevent biofilm formation, whilst simultaneously maintaining cytocompatibility with cells involved in osseointegration. The coatings were characterised with respect to physical properties, after which antibiofilm efficacy was investigated using a multispecies biofilm model, and cytocompatibility determined using human mesenchymal stem cells. The coatings exhibited similar physicochemical properties to some implant surfaces in clinical use, and significantly reduced formation of multispecies biofilm biomass up to 72 hours. One coating had superior cytocompatibility, with mesenchymal stem cells able to perform normal functions and commence osteoblastic differentiation, although at a slower rate than those grown on uncoated titanium. With further refinement, these coatings may have application in the prevention of bacterial contamination of dental implants at the time of surgery. This could aid a reduction in rates of early implant failure.

牙种植体（dental implants）是目前日益普及的牙缺失修复方式。尽管种植体存活率较高，但仍有少数病例在植入后短期内出现失败，包括细菌污染在内的多种因素均可干扰骨整合（osseointegration）过程。本研究阐述了一种钛基氯己定六偏磷酸盐涂层的开发方案：该涂层可通过水解作用释放抗菌剂氯己定（chlorhexidine）。本研究的目标是开发一款钛基涂层，其释放的氯己定剂量足以抑制生物膜形成，同时维持与参与骨整合的细胞的细胞相容性（cytocompatibility）。研究团队先对涂层的物理特性进行表征，随后采用多物种生物膜模型评估其抗生物膜效能，并通过人骨髓间充质干细胞（human mesenchymal stem cells）检测其细胞相容性。结果显示，该涂层的理化特性与临床在用的部分种植体表面相近，且在72小时内可显著减少多物种生物膜的生物量生成。其中一款涂层表现出更优的细胞相容性，间充质干细胞可维持正常功能并启动成骨细胞分化，尽管其分化速率慢于未涂层钛表面培养的细胞。经过进一步优化后，此类涂层有望应用于手术阶段牙种植体的细菌污染预防，从而有助于降低早期种植体失败率。