This comprehensive review focuses on polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a synthetic thermoplastic polymer, for applications in dentistry. As a high-performance polymer, PEEK is intrinsically robust yet biocompatible, making it an ideal substitute for titanium—the current gold standard in dentistry. PEEK, however, is also inert due to its low surface energy and brings challenges when employed in dentistry. Inert PEEK often falls short of achieving a few critical requirements of clinical dental materials, such as adhesiveness, osseoconductivity, antibacterial properties, and resistance to tribocorrosion. This study aims to review these properties and explore the various surface modification strategies that enhance the performance of PEEK. Literatures searches were conducted on Google Scholar, Research Gate, and PubMed databases using PEEK, polyetheretherketone, osseointegration of PEEK, PEEK in dentistry, tribology of PEEK, surface modifications, dental applications, bonding strength, surface topography, adhesive in dentistry, and dental implant as keywords. Literature on the topics of surface modification to increase adhesiveness, tribology, and osseointegration of PEEK were included in the review. The unavailability of full texts was considered when excluding literature. Surface modifications via chemical strategies (such as sulfonation, plasma treatment, UV treatment, surface coating, surface polymerization, etc.) and/or physical approaches (such as sandblasting, laser treatment, accelerated neutral atom beam, layer-by-layer assembly, particle leaching, etc.) discussed in the literature are summarized and compared. Further, approaches such as the incorporation of bioactive materials, e.g., osteogenic agents, antibacterial agents, etc., to enhance the abovementioned desired properties are explored. This review presents surface modification as a critical and essential approach to enhance the biological performance of PEEK in dentistry by retaining its mechanical robustness.

Natural polymer (cellulose)-based fabric was colored using an environmentally friendly natural dye extracted from Jalawe (Terminalia bellirica) in the preparation of Batik fabric, a cultural heritage of Indonesia that is recognized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Despite the significant favorable properties in terms of functions, environmental, and cultural aspects, the combination between natural polymer-based fabric and natural dyes makes the Batik fabric an ideal medium for bacterial growth, leading to lower product quality. In the quest for a sustainable, environmentally friendly, rich-in-culture, yet durable textile, this study aimed at the functionalization of natural dye (ND)-colored Batik fabric with antibacterial ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized from Electric Arc Furnace Dust (EAFD) waste. An in situ immobilization process with a Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method was explored at a pH range from 6 to 11 at 50 °C. Characterization methods include XRD, XRF, FESEM, EDX, FT-IR, tensile strength measurement, agar diffusion testing, and a CIE L*a*b* scale measurement. The XRD and XRF results showed that pure (>98%) ZnO NPs were formed at pH 11 of the CBD process. FESEM results demonstrated that the pure ZnO NPs either precipitated at the CBD reactor or were immobilized on the cellulose fabric, exhibiting distinct morphology compared to the non-pure ZnO NPs. EDX elemental analysis before and after washing demonstrated the durability of the ZnO NPs attachment, in which 84% of the ZnO NPs remained on the fabric after two washing cycles (equal to 10 cycles of home laundering). The FT-IR spectra provided information on the chemical functional groups, demonstrating the success of the ZnO NPs immobilization on the cellulose fabric through Van der Waals or coordination bonding. Moreover, the in situ immobilization of ZnO NPs enhanced the Batik fabric’s tensile strength but reduced its elongation. ZnO NP-functionalized Batik fabric that was treated at pH 10 and pH 11 showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The CIE L*a*b* scale results showed that the immobilization process affects the color quality of the ND-colored Batik fabric. However, based on organoleptic observations, the color of the Batik fabric that was treated at pH 11 is still acceptable for Jalawe ND-colored Batik fabric.

There is a high interest in the development of antimicrobial coatings to fi ght bacterial infections.We present the development of dual-functional antimicrobial surface, in which a biopassive platform wasfunctionalized with bioactive compounds on the surface, using a graft copolymer system poly(L-lysine)-graftpoly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline)-quarternery ammonium compound (PLL-g-PMOXA-QAC). Alkyne functionalitywas introduced to the PMOXA chain at α-terminus by initiating the living cationic polymerization of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline with a propargylic-initiator. The reaction was terminated with carboxy derivative-terminator thatallows grafting of the polymeric chain from the β-terminus to poly(L-lysine) (PLL) backbone, resulting in graftcopolymer alkynyl PLL-g-PMOXA. The conjugation between alkynyl PLL-g-PMOXA and QAC was thenperformed using click reaction. The chemical structures of the polymers were characterized by MALDI-TOFspectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that we have successfully synthesized PLL-g-PMOXA-QAC copolymer with grafting density (number of lysine/number of PMOXA) of 0.33. The resultingPLL-g-PMOXA-QAC copolymer was then immobilized onto carboxylated tissue cultured polystyrene (TCPS)surface and exposed to bacteria solution to test its dual-functional properties. Preliminary live-and-deadbacteria study indicates dual-functionality of the PLL-g-PMOXA-QAC-coated surface.