Adhesion of Alloderm to different Surfaces of Titanium Disks an In-Vitro Study

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adherence of a connective tissue allograft on different titanium disks after titanium surface modification.
Methods: Titanium disks with different surface roughness (machined, sandblasted, sandblasted-acid-etched “SLA” were utilized in this study. One group of disks was unmodified (control) and another disk group was modified (test) utilizing Air-flow^®glycine powder for 1 min. All surfaces were examined with a profilometer and surface roughness recorded in Sa units. A drop of albumin was placed on each surface followed by a piece of dermis allograft (Alloderm^®, Biohorizons) prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A mechanical compression of 15g was applied for one minute before the adhesion was measured utilizing an Instron^® peel test (n=12). The membrane was peeled at a speed of 2mm/min and the adhesion was measured over time in Newtons. The maximum force was recorded and mean values (+/-SD) were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using repeated ANOVA to evaluate differences in adhesion for each surface roughness pattern.
Results: Adhesion measurements were higher for the test group. No statistically significant difference was found between the control group disks. The comparison between test/control groups was increased in machined and SLA surfaces (p<0.0001) as well as for the sandblasted surfaces (0.0079).
Conclusions: Modification of titanium surfaces with Air-flow^® may lead to a greater adhesion of soft tissue and may be beneficial for treatment of soft tissue peri-implant defects.