Objective

This study examines the differences in osteogenic activity and antibacterial property among polyetheretherketone (PEEK) treated by three types of cold plasma.

Methods

Standard PEEK specimens were randomly assigned to four groups, which were named according to the treatment: PEEK-C (untreated), PEEK-A (Ar cold plasma treatment), PEEK-N (N₂ cold plasma treatment), and PEEK-AN (90% Ar and 10% N₂ mixed cold plasma treatment). Physical and chemical properties of the specimen surfaces were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and drop shape analyzer (DSA). MC3T3 osteoblasts were used in vitro to determine the osteogenic activity by cell adhesion morphology observation, cell counting-kit 8 (CCK-8) assay, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay. Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus were used in vitro to determine the antibacterial property by a plate colony-counting method and bacterial adhesion morphology observation.

Results

SEM and AFM analysis showed that the PEEK-C surface was smooth, whereas matrix-arranged nanoprotrusions appeared on the surface of the experimental groups: scaly nano-protrusions appeared on the PEEK-A and PEEK-AN surfaces, while dendritic nanoprotrusions appeared on the PEEK-N surface. Among the experimental groups, PEEK-AN had the finest surface nanoprotrusions. The roughness of the experimental groups increased compared with the PEEK-C group: the PEEK-N group was the roughest with a Ra of 192.60 ± 5.89 nm and PEEK-A was the smoothest with a Ra of 99.60 ± 5.43 nm. The hydrophilicity of the experimental groups was significantly enhanced compared with the PEEK-C group, among which, PEEK-N was the strongest and PEEK-A the weakest. The osteogenic activity and antibacterial property of the experimental groups displayed a remarkable increase compared with the PEEK-C group. Among the experimental groups, PEEK-N displayed the best osteogenic activity while PEEK-AN possessed the strongest antibacterial property. The osteogenic activity and antibacterial performance of PEEK-A were the weakest. Among these treatments, the N₂ cold plasma treatment was the most suitable modification method for PEEK application in dental implant.

Significance

Cold plasma treatment is a promising method to improve PEEK osteogenic activity and antibacterial properties. This study provides a theoretical basis for future research on PEEK cold plasma treatment.

中文翻译：

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三种冷等离子体处理对PEEK成骨活性和抗菌性能的影响

目的

本研究探讨了三种冷血浆处理的聚醚醚酮（PEEK）在成骨活性和抗菌性能方面的差异。

方法

将标准PEEK标本随机分为四组，根据处理方法命名：PEEK-C（未处理），PEEK-A（Ar冷等离子体处理），PEEK-N（N ₂冷等离子体处理）和PEEK-AN （90％Ar和10％N ₂混合冷等离子体处理）。样品表面的物理和化学性质通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM），原子力显微镜（AFM），X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和液滴形状分析仪（DSA）确定。通过细胞粘附形态观察，细胞计数试剂盒8（CCK-8）测定和碱性磷酸酶（ALP）活性测定，体外使用MC3T3成骨细胞来测定成骨活性。变形链球菌和金黄色葡萄球菌 通过平板菌落计数法和细菌粘附形态观察，在体外用于确定抗菌性能。

结果

SEM和AFM分析表明，PEEK-C表面光滑，而实验组的表面上出现了基体排列的纳米突起：PEEK-A和PEEK-AN表面上出现了鳞片状纳米突起，而PEEK-A表面上出现了树枝状纳米突起。 PEEK-N表面。在实验组中，PEEK-AN具有最好的表面纳米突起。实验组的粗糙度与PEEK-C组相比有所增加：PEEK-N组最粗糙，Ra为192.60±5.89 nm，PEEK-A最光滑，Ra为99.60±5.43 nm。与PEEK-C组相比，实验组的亲水性显着增强，其中，PEEK-N最强而PEEK-A最弱。与PEEK-C组相比，实验组的成骨活性和抗菌性能显着提高。在实验组中，PEEK-N具有最好的成骨活性，而PEEK-AN具有最强的抗菌性能。PEEK-A的成骨活性和抗菌性能最弱。在这些治疗方法中，N₂冷等离子体处理是用于PEEK在牙科植入物中应用的最合适的改性方法。

意义

冷等离子体处理是改善PEEK成骨活性和抗菌性能的一种有前途的方法。该研究为PEEK冷等离子体处理的进一步研究提供了理论依据。