Pallavi Lawande*; Santosh Nelogi

Prosthodontics and Implantology, KLE'S V. K Institute of Dental Sciences, Belagavi, India

Background: Failure of bone grafting in implantology is mainly due to infections. Conventionally it is treated by antibiotic administration which yields less optimal efficacy. Commercially available bone grafts lack a significant antibacterial activity which could lead to peri-implant diseases and implant failure. The complications related to bone graft failure have prevalence rates as high as 56%. Studies reported that Porphyromonas gingivalis was found to be 37.5% of the total associated bacteria.

Aim/Hypothesis: To evaluate the antibacterial activity and osteogenic potential of a novel bone graft made using a combination of Zinc oxide nanoparticles(ZnO-NP) and chitosan(CH) where CH acts as a scaffold promoting cell-biomaterial interactions and ZnO-NP exhibit excellent antibacterial qualities.

Material and Methods: CH hydrogel was prepared. ZnO-NP were added to it according to the optimum concentrations after antibacterial sensitivity tests. The contents were mixed and dehydrated further at 80°C for 20 minutes. The obtained bone graft was characterized by SEM analysis. Disc diffusion agar method was carried out to measure the zone of inhibition against Porphyromonas gingivalis in the novel bone graft material. Osteogenic potential was evaluated using MTT assay on MG63 cell lines. Mineralization potential is evaluated by Van-Kossa staining after 14 days.

Results: Antibacterial sensitivity tests were done and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of ZnO-NPs against Porphyromonas gingivalis was confirmed to be 10 μg/mL and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was 40 μg/mL. The results after measuring the zone of inhibition showed that novel bone graft material had significant antibacterial activity. MTT assay showed the graft to be osteogenic in nature as there was growth and proliferation of the cell lines. Van Kossa staining quantified the mineralization potential.

Conclusion and Clinical implications: New bone graft material effectively reduces the microbial activity and has a osteogenic potential thus directly contributing to faster peri-implant bone healing and implant osseointegration. This has an enormous potential for post-operative anti-bacterial application as a novel oral and maxillofacial bone repair biomaterial.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.

Keywords: biomaterial, bone graft, osseointegration