Advances in Dental Research, Vol 13, 8-20, Copyright © 1999 by International & American Associations for Dental Research

ARTICLES

Implant surfaces and interface processes

B. Kasemo and J. Gold
Department of Applied Physics Chalmers, University of Technology and Goteborg University, 412 96 Goteborg, Sweden.

The past decades and current R&D of biomaterials and medical implants show some general trends. One major trend is an increased degree of functionalization of the material surface, better to meet the demands of the biological host system. While the biomaterials of the past and those in current use are essentially bulk materials (metals, ceramics, polymers) or special compounds (bioglasses), possibly with some additional coating (e.g., hydroxyapatite), the current R&D on surface modifications points toward much more complex and multifunctional surfaces for the future. Such surface modifications can be divided into three classes, one aiming toward an optimized three-dimensional physical microarchitecture of the surface (pore size distributions, "roughness", etc.), the second one focusing on the (bio) chemical properties of surface coatings and impregnations (ion release, multi-layer coatings, coatings with biomolecules, controlled drug release, etc.), and the third one dealing with the viscoelastic properties (or more generally the micromechanical properties) of material surfaces. These properties are expected to affect the interfacial processes cooperatively, i.e., there are likely synergistic effects between and among them: The surface is "recognized" by the biological system through the combined chemical and topographic pattern of the surface, and the viscoelastic properties. In this presentation, the development indicated above is discussed briefly, and current R&D in this area is illustrated with a number of examples from our own research. The latter include micro- and nanofabrication of surface patterns and topographies by the use of laser machining, photolithographic techniques, and electron beam and colloidal lithographies to produce controlled structures on implant surfaces in the size range 10 nm to 100 microns. Examples of biochemical modifications include mono- or lipid membranes and protein coatings on different surfaces. A new method to evaluate, e.g., biomaterial-protein and biomaterial-cell interactions--the Quartz Crystal Microbalance--is described briefly.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Matalova, J. Fleischmannova, P.T. Sharpe, and A.S. Tucker Tooth Agenesis: from Molecular Genetics to Molecular Dentistry J. Dent. Res., July 1, 2008; 87(7): 617 - 623. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. D. Boyan and Z. Schwartz Response of Musculoskeletal Cells to Biomaterials J. Am. Acad. Ortho. Surg., September 1, 2006; 14(10): S157 - S162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Hao, J. Lawrence, and K. S. Chian Effects of CO2 Laser Irradiation on the Surface Properties of Magnesia-Partially Stabilised Zirconia (MgO-PSZ) Bioceramic and the Subsequent Improvements in Human Osteoblast Cell Adhesion J Biomater Appl, October 1, 2004; 19(2): 81 - 105. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Wahlstrom, E. K. Vestergaard, R. Schaub, A. Ronnau, M. Vestergaard, E. Laegsgaard, I. Stensgaard, and F. Besenbacher Electron Transfer-Induced Dynamics of Oxygen Molecules on the TiO2(110) Surface Science, January 23, 2004; 303(5657): 511 - 513. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Schaub, E. Wahlstrom, A. Ronnau, E. Lagsgaard, I. Stensgaard, and F. Besenbacher Oxygen-Mediated Diffusion of Oxygen Vacancies on the TiO2(110) Surface Science, January 17, 2003; 299(5605): 377 - 379. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]