Evaluation of durability of simvastatin nanoparticles coating on implant healing abutments

Abstract

Introduction: Considering the importance of the success of implant treatments and their long-term efficiency, it is important to prevent a series of biological complications such as peri-implant diseases. Using antimicrobial coatings is one of the successful methods in this field. The purpose of this study is to investigate the durability of gelatin nanoparticles coating containing simvastatin on healing titanium abutments.

Methods: In this study, 40 healing titanium abutments were prepared in two groups of 20 including the test group (healing titanium abutments coated with simvastatin nanoparticles) and the control group (healing titanium abutments without coating simvastatin nanoparticles). For coating, after cleaning the healing abutments, the dip coating process was applied to cover the surface of the healing abutments. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the microstructure and morphology of the coatings and X-ray (XRD) was used to determine the composition of the coating material. Durability test was performed in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution at 37°C and morphological changes were qualitatively examined by SEM after coating. The average initial weight after coating, one, thirty and sixty days after coating were quantitatively evaluated. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 25 software and the significance level of P<0.05 was considered for the samples.

Results: Electron microscope images showed successful coating and surface morphology well. Regarding the xrd results, the presence of gelatin nanoparticles coating containing simvastatin on the implant was proved. Based on repeated measures analysis of variance, weight changes over time were statistically significant. Based on the Sidak test results, it was observed that the average weight before plating and immediately after plating had a significant difference. It means that the coating has been successful. Also, the average weight between the initial time (after plating) and the time of one day after plating and thirty days after plating was not statistically significant. It means that the coverage has been stable for at least thirty days. The difference between the initial weight (after plating) and 60 days after plating was significant. This means that the durability of the coating has decreased until the 60th day. Discussion and conclusion: The results showed that the coating of gelatin nanoparticles containing simvastatin on healing titanium abutments was successful and this durability lasted for at least one month. This study was a basic study for coating and evaluating the stability of the coating, and it is necessary to carry out further evaluations in different physicochemical, mechanical and antimicrobial fields.