Investigation of biomaterials by human epithelial gingiva cells: an in vitro study

Cells in this study were cultivated out of human biopsies by a grow out explant technique and were sub cultivated on titanium, zirconium dioxide and collagen membrane specimens. To characterise the cells on the material surfaces used in this study immunohistochemical and histological staining techniques as well as different methods of microscopy (light microscopy and SEM) were applied.With the aid of the explant technique and the chosen cell cultivation method it was possible to investigate the human gingiva derived cells on different materials. The data of the present study show that the human gingival cells attach and proliferate on all three tested materials by exhibiting characteristic gingival keratinocyte protein expression even after long periods of culture e.g. up to 70 days.It could be shown that the three tested materials titanium, zirconium dioxide and collagen membrane (and their special surfaces) are good candidates for the application as materials in the dental gingival environment or, in the case of the collagen membrane as scaffold/cell-carrier for human gingival cells in tissue engineering.Over the last two decades, no other area of modern dentistry developed as fast as implantology. Due to the therapeutic opportunities of osseointegrative implants, the dental implants have become a reliable tool in modern dentistry. For the clinical success of dental implants several factors are crucial. In addition to osseointegration a successful growth and healing of the soft tissue in the oral cavity round the implant is an important criterion for the long-term success of an implant.As it is known that the surface of the implant has direct influence on the osseointegration process, surface structures are one field of intensive research. A large number of different surface treatments can be applied to alter surface topography of titanium implants, including machining/micromachining, particle blasting, titan plasma spraying, HA plasma spraying, chemical/electroch