Using an Attachment System with PEEK Matrices for Single-Implant Overdentures: In Vitro Retention Force.

Single-implant overdentures (SIOs) represent a major biomechanical challenge in terms of prosthetic retention. The Novaloc attachment system has the potential to overcome those challenges when used for SIOs, due to the use of PEEK matrices. This study compared the retentive force of the Novaloc attachment to the traditional Locator system, before and after cyclic insertion-removal cycles. Three Novaloc matrices (white, yellow, and green, corresponding to low, medium, and high retention, respectively) and Locator (medium retention) were tested, totalling four groups. Retentive force was measured using an Imada force gauge before and after 1095 insertion-removal cycles, corresponding to a year of SIO wearing. Retention was tested with the implants angulated at 0, 10, and 20°. Data for the different groups, angles, and cycling periods were tested via linear regression analysis and two-way ANOVA (α = 0.05). Although the Locator system yielded higher retention forces in general, it lost a much higher percentage of retention with cycling. This trend was similar with the three angles, with forces being inversely proportional to the implant angulation. The authors conclude that Novaloc may provide more reliable retention for SIOs due to their higher resistance to insertion-removal cycling.

In-Phase Ultra High-Resolution In Vivo NMR.

Although current NMR techniques allow organisms to be studied in vivo, magnetic susceptibility distortions, which arise from inhomogeneous distributions of chemical moieties, prevent the acquisition of high-resolution NMR spectra. Intermolecular single quantum coherence (iSQC) is a technique that breaks the sample's spatial isotropy to form long range dipolar couplings, which can be exploited to extract chemical shift information free of perturbations. While this approach holds vast potential, present practical limitations include radiation damping, relaxation losses, and non-phase sensitive data. Herein, these drawbacks are addressed, and a new technique termed in-phase iSQC (IP-iSQC) is introduced. When applied to a living system, high-resolution NMR spectra, nearly identical to a buffer extract, are obtained. The ability to look inside an organism and extract a high-resolution metabolic profile is profound and should find applications in fields in which metabolism or in vivo processes are of interest.