Fibroblast and bacterial adhesion on a 3D‐printed polyetheretherketone‐based implant material

Abstract

This study investigated fibroblast and bacteria proliferation on polyetheretherketone (PEEK)‐implant material 3D‐printed by fused deposition modeling (FDM) in comparison to titanium (cp‐Ti) and zirconia (ZrO ₂ ). Four groups were tested, including horizontally FDM‐printed PEEK (PH), vertically printed FDM‐PEEK (printed vertically [PV]), cp‐Ti and ZrO ₂ . Human gingival fibroblasts were cultured on discs (15/group), with viability evaluated at 1‐, 3‐, and 7‐d and cytokine production (IL‐6 and IL‐8) measured at 3‐d. Discs (9/group) were exposed to Streptococcus oralis with bacteria counted at 1‐ and 2‐d. Discs underwent scanning electron microscopy and surface roughness testing. Although fibroblast proliferation was similar for all groups at 24 h, values were significantly higher for PV than ZrO ₂ at 3‐d. At 7‐d, fibroblast proliferation was significantly lower on PH than cp‐Ti. Bacterial adhesion for ZrO ₂ was lower than other groups at 24 h and lower than PV and PH at 48 h. IL‐8 production was similar between groups, whereas IL‐6 was higher on cp‐Ti compared to ZrO ₂ . PV was significantly rougher than other groups. FDM‐PEEK induces early fibroblast adhesion and viability and bacterial colonization comparable to reference implant materials. The positive outcomes of this study underscore FDM‐PEEK as a promising biomaterial comparable to established implant and prosthetic materials in terms of favorable biological responses and potential soft‐tissue seal.