Stable sol-gel hydroxyapatite coating on zirconia dental implant for improved osseointegration.

Aside from being known for its excellent mechanical properties and aesthetic effect, zirconia has recently attracted attention as a new dental implant material. Many studies have focused on hydroxyapatite (HA) coating for obtaining improved biocompatibility, however the coating stability was reduced by a byproduct produced during the high-temperature sintering process. In this study, to overcome this problem, we simply coated the zirconia surface with a sol-gel-derived hydroxyapatite (HA) layer and then sintered it at a varied temperature (<1000 °C). The surface showed a nanoporous structure, and there was no crystalline phase other than HA and zirconia when the sintering temperature was 800 °C. The adhesion strength of the HA layer (>40 MPa) was also appropriate as a dental implant application. In addition, in vitro cell experiments using a preosteoblast cell line revealed that the HA-coated zirconia surface acts as a preferable surface for cell attachment and proliferation than bare zirconia surface. In vivo animal experiments also demonstrated that the osteoconductivity of zirconia were dramatically enhanced by HA coating, which was comparable to that of Ti implant. These results suggest that the sol-gel-based HA-coated zirconia has a great potential for use as a dental implant material.

Construction of tantalum/poly(ether imide) coatings on magnesium implants with both corrosion protection and osseointegration properties.

Poly(ether imide) (PEI) has shown satisfactory corrosion protection capability with good adhesion strength as a coating for magnesium (Mg), a potential candidate of biodegradable orthopedic implant material. However, its innate hydrophobic property causes insufficient osteoblast affinity and a lack of osseointegration. Herein, we modify the physical and chemical properties of a PEI-coated Mg implant. A plasma immersion ion implantation technique is combined with direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering to introduce biologically compatible tantalum (Ta) onto the surface of the PEI coating. The PEI-coating layer is not damaged during this process owing to the extremely short processing time (30 s), retaining its high corrosion protection property and adhesion stability. The Ta-implanted layer (roughly 10-nm-thick) on the topmost PEI surface generates long-term surface hydrophilicity and favorable surface conditions for pre-osteoblasts to adhere, proliferate, and differentiate. Furthermore, in a rabbit femur study, the Ta/PEI-coated Mg implant demonstrates significantly enhanced bone tissue affinity and osseointegration capability. These results indicate that Ta/PEI-coated Mg is promising for achieving early mechanical fixation and long-term success in biodegradable orthopedic implant applications.

Biodegradable magnesium alloy (WE43) in bone-fixation plate and screw.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the mechanical strength and the absorption rate of WE43 material and to develop an absorbable metallic plate and screw for craniofacial application. The extruded WE43 plate and screw were evaluated using a LeFort I osteotomy canine model of 10 beagle dogs. Animals were divided into two groups: five dogs in the experimental group and five dogs in the control group. µCT was acquired at 4, 12, and 24 weeks. At 24 weeks after the operation, all animals were sacrificed, and histologic evaluation was performed. Swelling and gas formation were observed in three dogs in the experimental groups at 8 weeks. From 12 weeks, infraorbital fistula and inflammation were observed in three dogs in the experimental group, which gradually decreased and disappeared at 24 weeks. Other two dogs showed less gas formation at 12 weeks. The plates were completely absorbed, and gas formation was not observed at 24 weeks in these two dogs. New bone was well formed around the plates and screws in both groups. Histologic examination showed no specific differences between two groups. The mechanical strength of extruded WE43 was sufficient for mid-facial application. Plates and screws made with appropriately treated WE43 have the potential to be useful clinically.

In-vitro blood and vascular compatibility of sirolimus-eluting organic/inorganic hybrid stent coatings.

The surface characteristics of coronary stents play a pivotal role in inhibiting in-stent restenosis and late-stent thrombosis. In this study, a sol-gel-derived silica xerogel-chitosan hybrid coating was applied to Co-Cr stent and was reported, for the first time, as a biocompatible drug delivery tool in vascular stent application. A dense and uniform chitosan-silica xerogel hybrid coating (<1-µm thick) was applied on bare Co-Cr material. Sirolimus was well incorporated into the hybrid coatings without re-crystallization. The chitosan-silica hybrid coating with 30 wt% silica xerogel showed better mechanical stability and good adhesive strength without any cracking or delamination. The chitosan-silica hybrid coated Co-Cr surface exhibited significantly improved wettability and corrosion resistance compared to the chitosan coated Co-Cr surface. In addition, the hybrid coating layer enabled efficient loading of sirolimus, owing to the unique mesoporous structure of silica xerogel, which further allowed the sustained release of sirolimus over 3 weeks. In-vitro tests with human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells and blood platelets confirmed that the chitosan-silica hybrid coating had excellent cytocompatibility and hemocompatibilty. Thus, this study demonstrated that the chitosan-silica hybrid material is a promising material for coating coronary stents, with minimal risk of in-stent restenosis and thrombogenicity.

Fluorine-ion-releasing injectable alginate nanocomposite hydrogel for enhanced bioactivity and antibacterial property.

The creation of a moist environment and promotion of cell proliferation and migration together with antibacterial property are critical to the wound-healing process. Alginate (Alg) is an excellent candidate for injectable wound dressing materials because it can form a gel in a mild environment. Taking advantage of its gelation property, an injectable nano composite hydrogel containing nano-sized (about 90 nm) calcium fluoride (CaF2) particles was developed using in-situ precipitation process. The amount of released fluorine (F-) ion from the nanocomposite hydrogel increased with increasing CaF2 content inside the composite hydrogel and the ions stimulated both the proliferation and migration of fibroblast cells in vitro. The antibacterial property of the composite hydrogel against E. coli and S. aureus was confirmed through colony formation test where the number of bacterial colonies significantly decreased compared to Alg hydrogel. The in vivo results based on a full-thickness wound model showed that the nanocomposite hydrogel effectively enhanced the deposition of the extracellular matrix compared to that of the Alg hydrogel. This study demonstrates the potential of this nanocomposite hydrogel as a bioactive injectable wound-dressing material with the ability to inhibit bacterial growth and stimulate cell proliferation and migration for accelerated wound healing.

Hyaluronic acid-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite hydrogels for enhanced biophysical and biological performance in a dermal matrix.

A hyaluronic acid (HAc)-hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocomposite (HAc-nanoHAp) hydrogel was fabricated through an in situ precipitation process for mechanical and biological enhancement as a soft tissue augmentation product. In this study, these composite hydrogel fillers were analyzed from three different perspectives and compared with pure HAc hydrogel for soft tissue augmentation application: (1) rheological behaviors, (2) in vivo lateral diffusion under mouse skin, and (3) wrinkle improvement in a photo-aged mouse model. HAc-nanoHAp provided great improvement to wrinkles because of its higher stiffness and gel cohesiveness in comparison with that of pure HAc. HAc-nanoHAp also presented great enhancement in strengthening the dermal matrix by stimulating the synthesis of collagen and elastin. Thus, HAc-nanoHAp filler has great potential as a soft tissue augmentation product, improving the biophysical and biological performance in skin tissue. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 3315-3325, 2017.

High Charge-Carrier Mobility of 2.5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) from a Water-Borne Colloid of a Polymeric Semiconductor via Smart Surfactant Engineering.

Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles dispersed in water are synthesized by a novel method utilizing non-ionic surfactants. By developing a smart surfactant engineering technique involving a selective post-removal process of surfactants, an unprecedentedly high mobility of 2.51 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) from a water-borne colloid is demonstrated for the first time.

Thin Film Transistor Gas Sensors Incorporating High-Mobility Diketopyrrolopyrole-Based Polymeric Semiconductor Doped with Graphene Oxide.

In this work, we fabricated a diketopyrrolopyrole-based donor-acceptor copolymer composite film. This is a high-mobility semiconductor component with a functionalized-graphene-oxide (GO) gas-adsorbing dopant, used as an active layer in gas-sensing organic-field-effect transistor (OFET) devices. The GO content of the composite film was carefully controlled so that the crystalline orientation of the semiconducting polymer could be conserved, without compromising its gas-adsorbing ability. The resulting optimized device exhibited high mobility (>1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) and revealed sensitive response during programmed exposure to various polar organic molecules (i.e., ethanol, acetone, and acetonitrile). This can be attributed to the high mobility of polymeric semiconductors, and also to their high surface-to-volume ratio of GO. The operating mechanism of the gas sensing GO-OFET is fully discussed in conjunction with charge-carrier trap theory. It was found that each transistor parameter (e.g., mobility, threshold voltage), responds independently to each gas molecule, which enables high selectivity of GO-OFETs for various gases. Furthermore, we also demonstrated practical GO-OFET devices that operated at low voltage (<1.5 V), and which successfully responded to gas exposure.

Isoindigo-based polymer field-effect transistors: effects of selenophene-substitution on high charge carrier mobility.

We show that selenophene-substitution can be an efficient synthetic strategy toward high charge carrier mobility of isoindigo (IID)-based copolymers when their side chains are optimized. A high mobility of 5.8 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) is demonstrated by a strategically designed IID-based polymer, with both side-chain adjustment and selenophene-substitution.