A team of University at Buffalo researchers has developed a recent strontium-loaded scaffold that will be personalized to suit any size dental implant and will help improve healing and tissue attachment in patients.
The success of dental implants depends on the expansion and adhesion of soppy tissues to the implant surface. Previous research by UB investigators found that strontium, a bone-seeking element that improves bone density and strength, also supports soft tissue function. Strontium, they found, can promote the function of fibroblasts – a sort of cell that forms connective tissues and plays a critical role in wound healing.
The brand new study, published earlier this yr within the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, found that scaffolds loaded with strontium – even at low concentrations – promoted wound healing by stimulating gingival fibroblast activity.
Scaffold materials have been explored to advertise bone and skin wound healing, but adaptations for the oral cavity are limited. These novel scaffolds represent a system for effective strontium release within the oral cavity.”
Michelle Visser, PhD, lead investigator, associate professor of oral biology, UB School of Dental Medicine
To supply the scaffolds – that are porous structures that promote and guide cell growth – the researchers developed reusable, ring-shaped templates and molds. The flexible hydrogel scaffolds are infused with a spread of strontium concentrations which might be released in an initial burst over 24 hours, followed by a sustained dosage over 4 days with minimal toxicity.
Tested within the laboratory, the strontium-loaded scaffolds increased the cellular activity of isolated gingival fibroblasts cells, while the hydrogel scaffold alone had little effect on the cells.
Additional investigators include UB alums Shahad Bakheet Alsharif, co-first writer and school member at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia; Rofida Wali, co-first writer and school member at Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia; and Bhoomika Sheth, quantum dot production engineer at STMicroelectronics. UB faculty, staff and students involved within the study include Mark Swihart, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and chemical and biological engineering student Kaiwen Chen, each within the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and Sebastiano Andreana, DDS, professor of restorative dentistry and director of implant dentistry, Rosemary Dziak, PhD, professor of oral biology, and Stephen Vanyo, research technician, all within the UB School of Dental Medicine.
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Journal reference:
Alsharif, S.B., et al. (2022) Strontium-loaded hydrogel scaffolds to advertise gingival fibroblast function. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.37439.