Self-Assembled Monolayer- A Nano Surface Modification.

ABSTRACT

Dental implants are made from one or more biomaterials, with titanium and alloys being the most commonly used biomaterials as they exhibit good biocompatibility, mechanical properties and machinability. Osseointegration as defined by Branemark and the closure of soft tissue is the foundation for the success of dental implants. Improving the success rate of dental implants, reducing treatment time, helping with rapid loading and reducing the incidence of peri-implantitis and peri-implant mucositis remains an important area of research in the field of oral implantology. Increasing numbers of studies have focused on altering the surface of titanium and titanium alloy in order to increase their biological activity and facilitate osseointegration and soft tissue healing. To achieve these objectives, various conventional methods exist to alter the surface of titanium, but many revolutionary approaches were implemented with the advent in nanotechnology to efficiently modify the surface. However, with the advent of nanotechnology, an innovative technology called Self Assembly is introduced for surface modification. It is done by imprinting the monolayers on the surface of the biomaterials (titanium or its alloys) by a process called self-assembly. Hence, this paper reviews the progress of the application of the self-assembly technique for the surface modification of titanium and its alloys.KEY WORDS