Determining the microstructure in human cementum might help us design new kinds of replacement materials for the treatment of teeth injury and disease. The authors characterized the nanostructures in the cementum of health human teeth via scanning electronic microscopy(SEM). It was found that the acellular cementum is mainly composed of two kinds of nanostructures―inorganic nanoparticles and organic nanofibers. And the inorganic nanoparticles show a tendency to arrange along the organic nanofibers. Based on the micro-molding in capillary strategy, the distribution of organic component in acellular cementum was copied with UV curable resin. After removing the inorganic nanoparticles by acid etching, many isolated spindle shape nanopores were left in polymer, which su- ggested that the inorganic nanoparticles should have been isolated by the organic component in cementum, and should be oval or nanosheet in shape. We hope the present work could provide reference for the biomimetic preparation of tissue engineering materials, and help us design new types of tooth implant.
GAO Yong-boLIU Ming-xiaSUN Zhi-qiangZHANG KaiDONG Feng-xiaSUN Hong-chenYANG Bai
With the development of science and technology,ordered microstructures with special functions have aroused intense research interest.These functional microstructures have been widely used in fields of microelectronic devices,micro-reactors,biochemical sensors and optical devices,etc.This paper summaries our work on preparation and application of microscopic patterned surfaces with ordered microstructures,and looks into the future development of this field.
