Dental implants are now the standard of care for tooth replacement in oral rehabilitation treatments. As the number of dental implants placed per year worldwide increases, the frequency of implant-related infections is also on the rise. Peri-implantitis is responsible for a significant number of delayed implant failures and, ultimately, for the costly replacement of implant-supported prostheses. It is associated with a combination of bone loss and biofilm formation. Since bacterial etiologic agents are also associated with numerous implant-related infections, prevention of biofilm formation has become a global health priority. We propose to develop novel antimicrobial coatings capable of preventing biofilm formation by releasing both on demand and in situ highly active platinum-doped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This novel design will build upon highly reactive Pt-doped AgNPs encapsulated in pH-responsive amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) carriers, capable of enhanced release of silver ions by galvanic reaction when the pH becomes acidic, as-triggered by infection. Our preliminary data demonstrates that we can successfully synthesize Pt-doped AgNPs and encapsulate them into biosoluble ACP carriers. The final outcome will provide in situ antimicrobial coatings activated solely by infection-triggered acidosis. The associated byproducts are biosoluble and bioactive and could favor osseointegration. The project will initiate with the synthesis of Pt-doped AgNPs (Aim 1), followed by the refinement of the encapsulation process with ACP carriers (Aim 2), and finally assessment of silver release profiles, biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity of doped and undoped encapsulated AgNPs as well as coated CP-titanium discs (Aim3). Direct deliverables are novel smart-release antimicrobial coatings applicable to dental implants and to a wide array of implantable medical devices, with a significant impact on strategies to prevent biofilm formation.
The dental implant market in the US is expanding and expected to reach $6.4 billion by 2018. As a result, the frequency of peri-implantitis or implant-related infections is also on the rise, leading to delayed implant failure and costly replacement of complex prosthetic restorations. We propose to develop novel smart release antimicrobial coatings to prevent biofilm formation, peri-implantitis and with expanded applications to all implantable medical devices.
