Private Practice, Via Nizza 46, 00198 Rome, Italy.
University of Turin, Italy.
Ann Anat. 2020 Jul;230:151489. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2020.151489. Epub 2020 Mar 9.
Plasma of argon was demonstrated to improve protein and cell adhesion on implant surface. On the other hand, increased surface energy and hydrophilicity could potentially amplify the risks of implant surface contamination during clinical phases, risks that have not yet been evaluated in Literature. The aim of the present in vitro study was to verify if Plasma treatment could alter the implant surface characteristics and its ability to remain sterile.
Implants from 9 brands were collected (n=11). One implant for each company was used for SEM surface analysis. To perform the microbiological analysis, ten implants from each company were used and randomly split by allocation either in test or control group. To replicate the surgical work flow, both test and control samples were left 60s in clinical environment. Bacterial growth analysis was performed. Optical density at 600nm was measured as readout of bacterial growth and colony forming unit (CFU) after 24h was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Wilcoxon Mann Whitney test. A p-value lower than 0.05 was considered significant.
SEM analysis revealed different categories of implant surface roughness. The optical density confirmed a readout of bacterial growth between 4 and 7 with no significant differences within groups. The number of CFU/ml for each measured sample (test and control) was lower than 102 and failed to present significant differences.
Surface activation using plasma of argon did not affect the degree of implant contamination, allowing to maintain a substantial sterility of the implant independently of its morphology. This may allow in the next future the use of bioactivation through plasma of argon to exploit the superhydrophilicity deriving from this biophysical process.
氩等离子体已被证明能改善植入物表面的蛋白质和细胞黏附性。另一方面，表面能和亲水性的增加可能会潜在地放大临床阶段植入物表面污染的风险，但这一风险尚未在文献中得到评估。本体外研究的目的是验证等离子体处理是否会改变植入物表面特性及其保持无菌的能力。
收集了 9 个品牌的植入物（n=11）。每个公司的一个植入物用于 SEM 表面分析。为了进行微生物分析，每个公司使用 10 个植入物，并通过分配随机分为试验组或对照组。为了复制手术工作流程，试验组和对照组样本均在临床环境中放置 60s。进行细菌生长分析。以 600nm 处的光密度作为细菌生长的读数，并在 24 小时后评估菌落形成单位（CFU）。使用 Wilcoxon 曼-惠特尼检验进行统计分析。p 值低于 0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
SEM 分析显示植入物表面粗糙度存在不同类别。光密度证实了细菌生长在 4 到 7 之间的读数，组内无显著差异。每个测量样本（试验组和对照组）的 CFU/ml 数量均低于 102，且无显著差异。
使用氩等离子体进行表面活化不会影响植入物污染的程度，能保持植入物的基本无菌性，而不考虑其形态。这可能允许在未来通过等离子体的生物激活来利用这种物理过程产生的超亲水性。
