Evaluación in-vitro de Cr-PEEK como biomaterial alternativo a los materiales tradicionales en implantología dental

Abstract

In recent years, the field of dental biomaterials engineering has actively pursued the development and optimization of implant materials for dental applications, with increasing emphasis on enhancing biocompatibility, mechanical resilience, and long-term osseointegration, while minimizing biological complications. Among the most widely used materials in clinical practice are titanium (Ti), yttria-stabilized zirconia (Zr), and polyetheretherketone (PEEK), each offering distinct physicochemical and biological properties. The present thesis investigates and compares the biological and functional properties of three candidate implant biomaterials—commercially pure titanium, yttria-stabilised zirconia, and ceramic-reinforced polyether-ether-ketone (Cr-PEEK). All specimens were subjected to the same rapid, low-cost surface functionalisation with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to evaluate the influence of this treatment on their behaviour. The overarching goal is to determine whether Cr-PEEK, a relatively novel composite, can equal or surpass the in vitro performance of conventional materials, thereby validating its suitability as a next-generation biomaterial for endosseous dental implants.

Materials and methods: Standardized specimens of Ti, Zr, CrPEEK were fabricated and sterilized. Two distinctive set of samples were created one uncoated biomaterial and functionalized, to functionalize NaOH solution was applied. The influence of both the base material composition and surface functionalization was evaluated through a series of characterization techniques, including assessments of surface hydrophilicity, protein adsorption, mineralization capacity, and surface morphology. Biological responses were investigated using human bone marrowderived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) using key cellular parameters such as proliferation rate, cell loading density, cytotoxicity, and cell morphology to determine the biocompatibility of each material. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of the surfaces was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to assess potential resistance to bacterial colonization by inhibition zone and attachment assay.

Results: No mayor effect were found between tested biomaterials, all tested samples exhibited high absorption ability and bioactivity, the surface of samples were influenced by manufacturing technique which is correlated to water contact angle. The effect of functionalization increased all tested characterization parameters. Cell culture at 7 days demonstrated similar results between tested samples, particularly highlighting cell loading density of CrPEEK, coated samples due to increased surface macro and micro characteristics improved tested parameters. The antibacterial efficacy of Ti samples outperformed Zr and CrPEEK, the alkaline coating has reduced the inherent ability of each tested sample against Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus.

Conclusions: These results collectively indicate that all tested materials could potentially be used as biomaterial for endosseous dental implants, similar surface properties and high bioactivity makes them a gold standard materials available in dental implant engendering field, while NaOH surface modification markedly improves physicochemical attributes, it may not be sufficient to impart significant antibacterial or cellular advantages. Additional translational research in preclinical and clinical models are needed to confirm the in vivo integration of proposed CrPEEK biomaterial as an alternative for traditional dental implant materials.