The presence of epithelial and connective tissue attachment at the peri-implant–soft tissue region has been demonstrated to provide a biological barrier of the alveolar bone from the oral environment. This barrier can be improved via surface modification of implant abutment materials. The effect of photofunctionalization on creating a bioactive surface for the enhancement of the epithelial and connective tissue attachment of zirconia implant abutment’s peri-implant mucosal interface using organotypic model has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the soft tissue seal around peri-implant mucosa and to understand the effect of photofunctionalization on the abutment materials. Three types of abutment materials were used in this study; yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), alumina-toughened zirconia, and grade 2 commercially pure titanium (CPTi) which were divided into nontreated (N-Tx) and photofunctionalized group (UV-Tx). The three-dimensional peri-implant mucosal model was constructed using primary human gingival keratinocytes and fibroblasts co-cultured on the acellular dermal membrane. The biological seal was determined through the concentration of tritiated water permeating the material–soft tissue interface. The biological seal formed by the soft tissue in the N-Tx group was significantly reduced compared to the UV-treated group (p < 0.001), with YSZ exhibiting the lowest permeability among all materials. Photofunctionalization of implant abutment materials improved the biological seal of the surrounding soft tissue peri-implant interface.

Electrospun materials have a number of applications in the tissue engineering field. However, the limited solubility of chitosan (CS), especially in organic solvents, makes its electrospinning with other synthetic organosoluble polymers impossible. In this article, we report the synthesis of a novel organosoluble derivative of CS through the application of a simple synthetic methodology. CS was reacted with 1,3‐diethyl‐2‐thiobarbituric acid (DETBA) with triethylorthoformate in the presence of methanol and acetic acid (4:1). The functional groups in the synthesized materials were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and solid‐state NMR spectroscopy, whereas X‐ray diffraction revealed the level of crystallinity. The CS derivative (CS–DETBA) was tested for its cytotoxic effects on human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells and was found to be nontoxic. The prepared derivative showed a much enhanced inhibitory effect on the growth of three bacterial strains, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, over that of CS itself. Overall, CS–DETBA showed good solubility in a range of organic solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and N,N‐dimethylformamide, and was blended with polycaprolactone (PCL) to form films and electrospun nanofibers. The morphologies of the synthesized materials were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy, and the fiber diameter was 360 nm under optimum conditions. This study demonstrated that the CS–DETBA–PCL blend could be a potential material for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 45905.

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Titanium is widely used as an implanted material in various clinical applications, especially in orthopedics and dental implantology. Following manufacturing and storage, titanium dental implants have the ability to undergo aging, which renders a reduction in osteoblast cellular activity during the healing process, so advancement of a surface treatment to recreate bioactive implant surfaces are required. Ultra-violet (UV) surface treatment has been introduced as a potential solution to reverse the aging process via removal of hydrocarbon contamination on the surface. This narrative review aimed to discuss the current understanding of the mechanism of titanium aging and provide insights into the mechanism that improves the biocompatibility of titanium implants following UV treatment. Additionally, the findings from preclinical and clinical studies is integratively presented. A reference search was performed through the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases based on the keywords titanium degradation, titanium aging, photofunctionalization, and UV treatment. Emerging data demonstrated the positive effect of UV light on osteoblast cells with enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity in vitro and increased bone-implant contact in animal studies. Despite limited human studies, the data reported here appear to support the benefit of UV light photofunctionalization on titanium surfaces as an alternative to reverse the titanium aging process. The direction of future research should focus on prospective randomized blinded clinical trials.

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