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Self-Powered Oxygen Microbubble Generator for Decontamination of Anaerobic Biofilm-Fouled Bioimplants

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Biomedical devices often feature a microgap: confined, minuscule spaces that foster bacterial infiltration and biofilm formation. For instance, peri-implantitis with prevalence rates of 4.7–45% at the patient level is a major complication driven by biofilm infections, characterized by chronic inflammation and implant failure. Anaerobic biofilm residing within the microgap serves as a major source of the peri-implantitis, but tools that remove the biofilm are lacking. Therefore, this study presents a novel preventive strategy employing s elf-powered m icrobubbler (SM) for targeted decontamination of micrographs in dental implants. SMs are assembled by doping diatoms with MnO 2 nanosheets. These particles are activated to generate O 2 microbubbles in H 2 O 2 solution via catalase-mimetic activity and can penetrate the biofilm structures. The resulting oxygen bubbles induce effective mechanical disruption and oxygenation within biofilm-mimicking gelatin hydrogels and Porphyromonas gingivalis biofilms found in the peri-implantitis-affected implants. Such biofilm removal from the microgap restored mechanical stability at implant abutment-fixture connections and reduced bacterial leakage. Multispecies biofilms from patient-derived implants were similarly decontaminated with the mixture of SM-H 2 O 2 outperforming conventional antiseptics like 0.2% chlorhexidine and 3% H 2 O 2 alone. This innovative approach extends beyond dental implants to address biofilm-associated challenges in various biomedical devices with microgap vulnerabilities. Overall, SM-based treatments will offer an efficient and nondamaging solution to enhance the sterility and longevity of various bioimplants with intricated and confined structure.

Source: ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering

DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c00303