We developed a novel titanium coating that has applications for preventing infection-related implant failures in dentistry and orthopedics. The coating incorporates an antimicrobial peptide, GL13K, derived from parotid secretory protein, which has been previously shown to be bactericidal and bacteriostatic in solution. We characterized the resulting physicochemical properties, resistance to degradation, activity against Porphyromonas gingivalis, and in vitro cytocompatibility. P. gingivalis is a pathogen associated with dental peri-implantitis, an inflammatory response to bacteria resulting in bone loss and implant failure. Our surface modifications obtained a homogeneous, highly hydrophobic, and strongly-anchored GL13K-coating that was resistant to mechanical, thermochemical, and enzymatic degradation. The GL13K-coatings had bactericidal effect and thus, significantly reduced the number of viable bacteria compared to control surfaces. Finally, adequate proliferation of osteoblasts and human-gingival-fibroblasts demonstrated the GL13K-coating’s cytocompatibility. The robustness, antimicrobial activity, and cytocompatibility of GL13K-biofunctionalized titanium make it a promising candidate for sustained inhibition of bacterial biofilm growth. This surface chemistry provides a basis for development of multifunctional bioactive surfaces to reduce patient morbidities and improve long-term clinical efficacy of metallic dental and orthopedic implants.

Oral biofilms can degrade the components in dental resin-based composite restorations, thus compromising marginal integrity and leading to secondary caries. In this study, we investigated the mechanical integrity of the dentin-composite interface challenged with multi-species oral biofilms. While most studies used single-species biofilms, we used a more realistic, diverse biofilm model produced directly from plaques collected from donors with a history of early childhood caries. Dentin–composite disks were made using bovine incisor roots filled with Z100™ or Filtek™ LS (3M ESPE). The disks were incubated for 72hr in paired CDC biofilm reactors, using a previously published protocol. One reactor was pulsed with sucrose, and the other was not. A sterile saliva-only control group was run with sucrose pulsing. The disks were fractured under diametral compression to evaluate their interfacial bond strength. Surface deformation of the disks was mapped using digital image correlation (DIC) to ascertain fracture origin. Fracture surfaces were examined using SEM/EDS to assess demineralization and interfacial degradation. Dentin demineralization was greater under sucrose-pulsed biofilms, as the pH dropped below 5.5 during pulsing, with LS and Z100 specimens suffering similar degrees of surface mineral loss. Biofilm growth with sucrose pulsing also caused preferential degradation of the composite-dentin interface, depending on the composite/adhesive system used. Specifically, Z100 specimens showed greater bond strength reduction and more frequent cohesive failure in the adhesive layer. This was attributed to the inferior dentin coverage by Z100 adhesive which possibly led to a higher level of chemical and enzymatic degradation. The results suggested that factors other than dentin demineralization were also responsible for interfacial degradation. We have thus developed a clinically relevant in vitro biofilm model which would allow us to effectively assess the degradation of the dentin-composite interface subjected to multi-species biofilm challenge.

We report in this study a scalable and controllable approach for fabricating robust and high-performance superhydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation (MD). This novel approach combines electro-co-spinning/spraying (ES2) with chemical vapor welding and enables the formation of robust superhydrophobic (r-SH) membranes that are mechanically strong, highly porous, and robustly superhydrophobic. Compared with superhydrophobic membranes obtained using surface deposition of fluorinated nanoparticles, the r-SH membranes have more robust wetting properties and higher vapor permeability in MD. MD scaling experiments with sodium chloride and gypsum show that the r-SH membrane is highly effective in mitigating mineral scaling. Finally, we also discuss the mechanism of scaling resistance enabled by superhydrophobic membranes with a highlight on the roles of the surface-bound air layer in reducing the crystal-membrane contact area, nucleation propensity, and ion-membrane contact time.

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