A challenge that arises with periodontal regeneration surgery has been associated with the future development of periodontal regeneration membrane to prevent gingiva and fibroblasts invade the wound and allow alveolar bone successfully regenerated. Chitosan (CS) has the advantages of non-toxicity, biodegradation, biocompatibility, and has been widely used in wound dressings. A flexible film was made using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blending CS based thermosensitive hydrogel. The proposed 2% PVA/CS hydrogel has the highest swelling ratio about 720% after 60 min incubation and keeps its area after 10 min incubation for surgery suture. The elastic modulus of 0%, 1%, 2%, and 4% PVA/CS hydrogel were 7.75 ± 1.96, 0.91 ± 0.16, 0.75 ± 0.21, and 0.37 ± 0.06 MPa, respectively. The maximum strain of 2% PVA/CS hydrogel was 101.00 ± 28.03 (%). After 8 weeks biodegradation, the remain weight of 2% PVA/CS hydrogel was 71.36 ± 0.79 (%). In vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed and demonstrated PVA/CS hydrogel significantly improving cell proliferation. This study realized a promising flexible film for periodontal regeneration membrane that can prevent the rapid growth of fibroblasts to invade the wound and be used for periodontal regeneration surgery.

The surface properties, such as hydrophilicity and functional OH groups, play an important role in bone fixation in vivo. In our previous study, the plasma treatments of large grit and acid etching (SLA) method produce functional OH groups on the rough surface. There is no report in discussing the integration between basic Ti-OH groups and bone-to-implant contact (BIC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the functional OH groups on the rough surface both in vitro and in vivo. Functional hydroxyl groups were produced on a SLA-treated surface. The surface topography, roughness, wettability, and chemical composition were examined using various techniques. Twenty-four implants were inserted into the proximal tibia of four New Zealand white rabbits. The biological responses were measured in terms of histomorphometric analysis 4 and 8 weeks post-implantation. The surface morphology and roughness were similar among all groups. However, the concentration of OH groups and hydrophilicity were found increased in the plasma treatment. The cell morphology in RF-plasma treated groups had more polygonal type and higher expression of actin and vinculin. The bone-to-implant contact (BIC) ratios of RF-200W were significantly higher than other groups (P < 0.05). The relationship between basic OH groups and BIC showed linear correspondence. The Ti-OH groups introduced on the rough surface by plasma treatments can trigger cell adhesion which further initiate new bone apposition. We propose that RF-plasma treatment can help to enhance bone healing at 4 and 8 weeks.

This literature review provides an overview of the fabrication and application of biopolymer hybrid particles in dentistry. A total of 95 articles have been included in this review. In the review paper, the common inorganic particles and biopolymers used in dentistry are discussed in general, and detailed examples of inorganic particles (i.e., hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate, and bioactive glass) and biopolymers such as collagen, gelatin, and chitosan have been drawn from the scientific literature and practical work. Among the included studies, calcium phosphate including hydroxyapatite is the most widely applied for inorganic particles used in dentistry, but bioactive glass is more applicable and multifunctional than hydroxyapatite and is currently used in clinical practice. Today, biopolymer hybrid particles are receiving more attention as novel materials for several applications in dentistry, such as drug delivery systems, bone repair, and periodontal regeneration surgery. The literature published on the biopolymer gel-assisted synthesis of inorganic particles for dentistry is somewhat limited, and therefore, this article focuses on reviewing and discussing the biopolymer hybrid particles used in dentistry.

The scanned laser pico-projection (SLPP) method and Stokes-Mueller matrix polarimetry technique are used to distinguish cancer cells with different cytoskeletal organizations and metastatic potencies. The speckle contrast of human bone osteosarcoma cancer cells (U2OS) with different cytoskeletal drug treatments is measured by the SLPP method. The results show that the contrast is directly related to the organization of the microtubules and actin fibers. The Stokes-Mueller matrix polaimetry technique is employed to measure polarization parameters of the same samples. The measurement results are found to be consistent with those obtained using the SLPP method. Finally, the Stokes-Mueller matrix polaimetry technique is used to extract the polarization parameters of cell-pairs with different metastatic potencies. It is shown that the extracted value of the linear phase retardance is particularly sensitive to the organization of the microtubules and actin fibers. Furthermore, the linear phase retardance and depolarization index are both sensitive to the metastatic potency of the cancer cells. In general, both techniques provide a rapid, non-invasive and label-free approach for distinguishing cancer cells with different cytoskeleton organizations and metastatic potentials, and are thus of significant benefit in evaluating the malignancy of cancer cells.