Dental implants have been widely applied in clinical practice to replace missing teeth. Distinguished Professor Her-Hsiung Huang of NYCU College of Dentistry led an experiment team in applying a simple, fast, and cost-effective surface processing technology to prepare superhydrophilic micron, submicron, and nanoscale titanium dental implant surfaces, which bond exceptionally well with titanium substrates. As revealed in the in vitro cell response test, the superhydrophilic nanoporous network encompasses various proteins related to cell responses. Thus, the nanoscale proteins on the cell membranes can sense the shapes of the nanoporous network and induce the mesenchymal stem cells from human marrow bones to form a focal adhesion complex on the surface of the material. This activates the focal adhesion kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, thereby reinforcing the expression of the genes and proteins related to cell migration, mineralization, and osteogenesis (e.g., bone sialoprotein, osteopontin, and osteocalcin).
In vivo animal experiments have shown that the implant surface developed by Huang enhances bone healing speed substantially and exhibits bone-to-implant contact at least 1.5 times as large as that of internationally renowned brands of dental implants. Accordingly, the dental implant surface treatment technology developed by Huang show high international competitiveness and can be applied in orthopedics.
According to Huang, biomedical material surface treatment technology is an interdisciplinary subject with equal emphasis on basic theories and clinical application. Using a simple, fast, and environmentally friendly surface treatment technology to develop new generation dental and orthopedic implants has long been a research direction of Huang’s laboratory.
In the face of the aging society, human life extension, and increased attention to oral aesthetics, the functions of dental implant surfaces must become more diverse. Huang’s laboratory has been working on the following Ministry of Science and Technology projects with regard to the development of new generation dental implant surface treatment technologies for the recent 2 years: implant surfaces that regulate bone remodeling to promote implant osteointegration (MOST 109-2314-B-010-009-MY3); implant surfaces that mimic extracellular matrices to promote implants’ bone tissue responses (MOST 108-2314-B-010-013 -MY3); and implant surfaces that carry nanoparticles containing growth factors to induce angiogenesis and osseointegration (MOST 107-2314-B-010-034-MY2).
Chinese version: https://www.nycu.edu.tw/news/2391/