Human study of ion implantation as a surface treatment for dental implants.

This clinical study evaluated a new surface treatment of ion implantation with CO ions which has previously been subjected to extensive study in animal models. The aim of this work was to assess its effect in humans. Experimental mini-implants were used; half of their longitudinal surface was machined and the other half was treated with CO ion implantation. The study was conducted in healthy volunteer patients who required prosthetic treatment with dental implants, and in accordance with the corresponding ethics committees. Coinciding with the insertion of commercial implants for oral restoration, one or two mini-implants were placed in the upper maxillary tuberosity or in the retromolar trigone of the mandible. The mini-implants were removed with a trephine jointly with a small volume of surrounding bone after a 3-month period. Two evaluation methods were used and both showed a greater degree of bone integration in the mini-implant section that underwent CO ion implantation treatment in comparison with the non-treated surface: 62.9% vs. 57.9%, and 54.8% vs. 46.2%. In addition, no adverse reactions were observed in the surface treatment with CO ion implantation. These results confirm the positive benefits in humans, based on the findings obtained from previous animal experiments.

In vivo low-density bone apposition on different implant surface materials.

During osseointegration, new bone may be laid down on the implant surface and/or on the old bone surface; the former is known as contact osteogenesis and the latter as distance osteogenesis. Implant surface topography and material composition affect this process. The present study evaluates Ca and P apposition onto three different dental implant material surfaces (carbon monoxide (CO) ion implantation on Ti6Al4V, sand blasting and acid etching on commercially pure titanium and untreated Ti6Al4V) on the mandibles of beagles after healing periods of 3 and 6 months. Energy dispersive spectroscopy is useful for identifying low-density bone relative to surrounding mature bone, allowing for discrimination of the osteogenesis source. Low-density bone was only found at the apical end; there was none on the surface of untreated implants. Low-density bone arising from mature bone towards the implant at month 3 (i.e. distance osteogenesis) was only present on the CO ion implanted samples, due to the modification of the surface nano-topography and the chemistry and structure of the material.

Risk analysis and implants.

According to the Medical Devices Directive, both the preparation for clinical trials and marketing of implants require that a risk analysis is performed. This paper presents a risk analysis for a dental implant in the framework of the risk management process carried out for the preparation of a multi-centre clinical trial, where likely hazards, failure modes and their severities, probabilities and detectabilities are assessed, together with a review of the related scientific literature. The clinical study aimed to evaluate a new ion implantation-based implant surface designed for the promotion of more extensive and faster osseointegration.

Improvement of osseointegration of titanium dental implant surfaces modified with CO ions: a comparative histomorphometric study in beagle dogs.

The aim of this study was to compare carbon-oxygen (CO) ion implantation as a surface treatment with diamond-like carbon and commercially treated implants, including double acid-etched (Osseotite), oxidized (TiUnite) and sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA), using machine-turned titanium implants as control. A total of 72 dental implants divided into 6 groups were placed in the mandibles of 12 beagle dogs. Evaluation was performed by conventional light transmission microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The histological results obtained via ESEM demonstrated bone-implant contact percentage (%BIC) for implants treated with CO ion implantation of 61% and 62% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. At the same time points, the values were 48% and 45% for double acid-etched, 46% and 52% for sandblasted and acid-etched, 55% and 46% for oxidized, and 33% and 49% for machine-turned titanium control implants. Values of %BIC were statistically significantly higher in implants treated with CO ion implantation compared to the commercially treated implant group (p=0.002 and p=0.025) and the control implants (p=0.001 and p=0.032) at 3 and 6 months, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the three groups of commercially treated implants. The larger %BIC of the ion-implanted group was observable at an early stage.

The effect of combined application of TGFbeta-1, BMP-2, and COLLOSS E on the development of bone marrow derived osteoblast-like cells in vitro.

This study investigated the combined application of Transforming Growth Factor beta-1 (TGFbeta-1) and Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP-2) to stimulate osteogenic expression in vitro. TGFbeta-1 and BMP-2 fulfill specific roles in the formation of new bone. COLLOSS E, a bone-derived collagen product containing a variety of naturally occurring growth factors, was also used. Growth factors were administered to osteoblast-like cells from rat bone marrow (RBM). Proliferation and differentiation were monitored up to 24 days, by measuring total DNA content, alkaline phosphatase activity, and calcium content. Genetic expression of a set of differentiation markers at day 7 was measured by Q-PCR. Adding BMP-2 alone induced high proliferation rates, compared to the growth factor supplemented groups, and it induced high differentiation rates, compared to the control group. Adding TGFbeta-1 combined with BMP-2, TGFbeta-1 alone, or COLLOSS E resulted in a significant decrease in proliferation rate, but an increase in differentiation rate, compared to the control group. Additive or synergistic effects of application of TGFbeta-1 and BMP-2 were not observed. The observed effects of COLLOSS E mainly resembled those of TGFbeta-1 application alone. It can be concluded that BMP-2 is the most suitable candidate for osteogenic stimulation of RBM cells in these settings.

Effects of bacterial adhesion with respect to the type of material, structure and design of intraocular lenses.

The properties of the biomaterials used to constitute lenses are important factors choosing a lens for human implantation because these can influence in posterior clinical evolutions of patients. In this study, different characteristics of intraocular lenses such as chemical composition, surface roughness and lens design have been investigated in terms of their influence into a pathological environment. Eight commercial lenses were tested by optical profiling, Infrared spectra with Fourier transformation (FTIR), water-material contact angle and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to know their chemical composition and structural characteristics. These lenses were then exposed to infectious conditions in order to evaluate their responses to the bacterial environment.