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TiO2 nanotubes as an antibacterial nanotextured surface for dental implants: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Marcel F Kunrath1, Georgia Farina2, Luiza B S Sturmer2
1Department of Biomaterials, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden; School of Health and Life Sciences, Post-Graduate Program in Dentistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; School of Technology, Post-Graduate Program in Materials Technology and Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Objectives:
Nanotechnology is constantly advancing in dental science, progressing several features aimed at improving dental implants. An alternative for surface treatment of dental implants is electrochemical anodization, which may generate a nanotubular surface (TiO2 nanotubes) with antibacterial potential and osteoinductive features. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to elucidate the possible antibacterial properties of the surface in question compared to the untreated titanium surface.
Sources:
For that purpose, was performed a systematic search on the bases PubMed, Lilacs, Embase, Web Of Science, Cinahl, and Cochrane Central, as well as, manual searches and gray literature.
Study Selection:
The searches resulted in 742 articles, of which 156 followed for full-text reading. Then, 37 were included in the systematic review and 8 were included in meta-analysis.
Results:
Fifteen studies revealed significant antibacterial protection using TiO2 nanotube surfaces, while 15 studies found no statistical difference between control and nanotextured surfaces. Meta-analysis of in vitro studies demonstrated relevant bacterial reduction only for studies investigating Staphylococcus aureus in a period of 6 h. Meta-analysis of in vivo studies revealed three times lower bacterial adhesion and proliferation on TiO2 nanotube surfaces.
Conclusions:
TiO2 nanotube topography as a surface for dental implants in preclinical research has demonstrated a positive relationship with antibacterial properties, nevertheless, factors such as anodization protocols, bacteria strains, and mono-culture methods should be taken into consideration, consequently, further studies are necessary to promote clinical translatability.
