Cellular experimental study and mechanism of surface modification of 3D printed titanium materials to modulate the sealing and antimicrobial properties of oral implants

Investigating the role of surface-modified 3D printed titanium implants in modulating oral soft tissue closure and antimicrobial properties. Eighteen 6-month-old healthy adult New Zealand White rabbits were selected as experimental animals, the left and right mandibular teeth of each experimental animal were randomly divided into two groups, and the bilateral first premolar teeth were extracted after general anesthesia, and one implant was implanted into each of the magnesium/zinc ionized surface-treated group (experimental group) and the surface-untreated group (control group), with a total of 36 implants, i.e., 18 implants for the experimental group and 18 implants for the control group. Bilateral mandibular samples from both groups were removed after 2 and 4 weeks of implantation to investigate the attachment and spreading of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) on the surface of the samples, their proliferative and migratory behaviors as well as the expression levels of related gene proteins (CoL-1 and TGF-β), and HE staining of the soft tissues of the samples and inflammatory cell counts. After 2 and 4 weeks of implantation, the experimental group’s HGFs adhesion and spreading were significantly better than that of the control group, the migration and proliferation of HGFs were significantly greater than that of the control group ( p < .05), and the expression of CoL-1 and TGF-β genes was significantly higher than that of the control group ( p < .05), and the inflammatory cell count was significantly smaller than that of the control group ( p < .05). Surface modification by magnesium and zinc ions enhances the sealing performance and antimicrobial performance of 3D printed titanium implants in oral soft tissues, with significant effects.