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Bone loss is a major burden for society and impacts people's health all over the world. In a changing world looking toward a more conscious use of raw materials, efforts are being made to increasingly consider new promising biomaterials that account for, on one side, the ability to provide specific functional biological activities and, on the other, the feature of being well tolerated. In this regard, the use of phenolic compounds in the field of bone-related bioengineering shows a rising interest in the development of medical solutions aimed at taking advantage of the multiple beneficial properties of these plant molecules. In this work, the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory power of a biphasic calcium phosphate synthetic bone filler coated with a mixture of phenolic compounds was investigated by evaluating the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value against Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis and the expression of genes involved in inflammation and autophagy by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) on J774a.1 murine macrophage cells. Results show a MIC of 0.8 μg/mL, a neat anti-inflammatory effect, and induction of autophagy key genes compared to a ceramic bone filler. In conclusion, functionalization with a polyphenol-rich extract confers to a ceramic bone filler anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To endow an implant surface with enhanced properties to ensure an appropriate seal with the host tissue for inflammation/infection resistance, next-generation bone implant collagen–polyphenol nanolayers were built on conventional titanium surfaces through a multilayer approach. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was performed to investigate the chemical arrangement of molecules within the surface layer and to provide an estimate of their thickness. A short-term (2 and 4 weeks) in vivo test of bone implants in a healthy rabbit model was performed to check possible side effects of the soft surface layer on early phases of osteointegration, leading to secondary stability. Results show the building up of the different nanolayers on top of titanium, resulting in a final composite collagen–polyphenol surface and a layer thickness of about 10 nm. In vivo tests performed on machined and state-of-the-art microrough titanium implants do not show significant differences between coated and uncoated samples, as the surface microroughness remains the main driver of bone-to-implant contact. These results confirm that the surface nanolayer does not interfere with the onset and progression of implant osteointegration and prompt the green light for specific investigations of the potential merits of this bioactive coating as an enhancer of the device/tissue seal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]