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The article focuses on the development of biofunctionalized materials for surgical applications. It mentions that the interest is due to the increasing demand from surgeons and patients for smart and effective implants. It notes that biocompatibility is important for the implanted device because it largely determine the performance of the device. It is stated that foreign body reaction to the artificial material can be improved through a surface coating of the supporting matrix with proteins.

Purpose: To examine the influence of bone-substitute application during implantation on the success of immediately placed and loaded dental implants., Materials and Methods: A total of 147 consecutive patients (age, 16.5-80.4 years) were provided with 696 immediately loaded implants. The mean follow-up time was 34.1 months. Of these implants, 50.4% (n=351) were immediately placed into extraction sockets. A total of 119 implants were added by simultaneous bone-substitute application (NanoBone, Artoss GmbH, Rostock Germany), whereas the other implants were placed in healed bone. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed using IBM SPSS V.20., Results: The overall implant success rate was 96.1%. Implants with simultaneous bone replacement had a hazard ratio of 0.877 (p=0.837); 95% CI, 0.253-3.04). Factors found to be statistically significant modifiers of success on multivariate analysis (p<0.05) included type of superstructure (p<0.001), implant-abutment connection (p<0.001), membrane use (p=0.010), and jaw (p=0.026). None of the other factors investigated were significant modifiers., Conclusions: The present study demonstrates high success rates for immediately loaded implants and their superstructures independent of the simultaneous application of bone substitute. The declared aim of socket preservation, the prevention avoiding bone loss, is achieved in the immediate implant placement scenario under immediate-loading conditions.

Background: Prior to clinical application, newly developed prototypes of cochlear implant electrode arrays must prove their suitability with the smallest possible tissue damage in ex vivo temporal bones. So far, after insertion of the electrodes the temporal bone specimens have to be processed in a rather intricate technique, including embedding, sectioning or grinding prior to histological evaluation. The question remains whether for special indications this time-consuming method, which even causes artifacts, can be replaced by a new technique based on cryo-grinding., Materials and Methods: The main principle of the method described is to grind the temporal bone with the inserted electrode in a frozen state, provided by a fixation device filled with dry ice. After creating a plane surface and staining it (still in a frozen state), the specimen can be examined and photographed with a projection microscope. This procedure is continued by subsequently grinding and examining new surfaces in defined distances., Results: In numerous trial runs the method proved feasible, saving much time and manpower. After grinding, each plane could be examined sufficiently; the site of the electrodes and the corresponding tissue damage could be documented properly., Discussion: The new concept of cryo-grinding provides relatively easy and fast examinations of temporal bones after inserting test electrodes. The examiner is enabled to correlate his "sensations" during the insertion (e.g., smoothness, resistances) almost directly with the morphologic findings, without having to wait a long time while the temporal bone specimens are being processed conventionally. Furthermore, this method avoids artifacts due to soft tissue shrinking during drying. In further steps of development, the grinding device will be optimized for standard use.

In order to improve tissue integration, the neck region of dental implants was coated with the biodegradable polymer poly (L-lactide) incorporating tetracycline, ibuprofen and the combination of both drugs using a solvent dip-coating process. Metallographic analysis, light microscopy and electron microscopy were used to detect the thickness range and the surface characteristics of the coatings. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the tetrazolium colorimetric method with the fibroblast cell line L929. The in vitro drug release was measured in isotonic sodium chloride solution by UV spectroscopy. To explore if drug release is concentration-dependent, the total amount of drug was varied in the coating (20% wt, 30% wt and 40% wt). The results showed a continuous release of the embedded drugs in relevant dosage over a period of 6 months. In contrast to high tetracycline concentrations, high ibuprofen concentrations resulted in a decreased metabolic activity of the L929 fibroblasts.

Aesthetical and biomechanical requirements on fiber-reinforced endodontic posts play an important role in clinical application. Leading to a long-term clinical success, post systems must ensure an adequate force transmission and optimal retention behavior into the root channel. The aim of this study was to determine the microstructure and morphology of commonly used fiber reinforced endodontic posts in vitro. Post-specific fiber diameter, fiber arrangement over the cross-sections and length, and fiber-matrix ratio could be associated with mechanical properties, such as three-point bending strength and structure modulus. Furthermore, our investigation focused on the quantification of the wettability of the post surface. By using a modified contact-angle measurement, the meniscus on the post surface was characterized. In additional investigations, posts were inserted in artificial root channels and the extraction force was measured. The results show a strong correlation between the extraction force and the wettability of the post surface.

Conclusion: With optical coherence tomography (OCT) it is basically possible to reveal parts of the cochlear morphology without opening its enveloping membranes. Thus, it may serve as a helpful guide for the surgeon to localize the scala tympani precisely before opening the fluid-filled inner ear to insert the electrode array., Objective: To improve anatomical orientation in cochlear implant surgery before definitively opening the fluid-filled inner ear. The question was whether a new imaging technique, OCT, might provide information about the site of the underlying inner ear structures (scala tympani, scala vestibuli) and could, consequently, guide the surgeon towards the scala tympani., Materials and Methods: In a preliminary study, OCT was carried out on human temporal bone preparations, in which a cochleostomy ('fenestration') was performed leaving the endosteum and the fluid-filled inner ear intact. OCT was applied via a prototype of a specially equipped operating microscope. The mode of OCT used in this context was spectral-domain (SD)-OCT., Results: On scans, which can be read analogous to B-mode sonography, OCT provides information about structures on the inner surface of the partly exposed but still intact membranous cochlear lining - such as scala tympani or scala vestibuli.