Robust optical metasurface heterostructures for prevention and treatment of peri-implantitis

Peri-implantitis poses significant challenges in the field of oral implantology, while the inherent antibacterial properties of implant abutments and their tight sealing with surrounding soft tissues play a vital role in the prevent and treatment of peri-implantitis. Herein, a robust optical metasurface CeO x /TiO 2 heterostructure with gradient-distributed nanocavity structure was prepared on titanium surface by innovatively integrating plasma immersion ion implantation and thermal treatment technologies. The CeO x /TiO 2 heterostructure with an optimized bandgap enhances light absorption in the second near-infrared region and a robust optical metasurface with gradient-distributed nanocavities improves the retention of NIR light by the light trap effect and increases the heat preservation capacity, leading to superior photothermal antibacterial activity in vitro and in vivo . Besides, with the existence of ceria, metasurface CeO x /TiO 2 heterostructure shows antioxidant properties and can alleviate the local inflammatory microenvironment, promoting soft tissue sealing in vitro and in vivo by sequentially activating the “Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, Rap1 signaling pathway, and ECM-receptor interaction” cascade network . This study paves the way for developing novel dental implant abutments with antibacterial activities and soft tissue sealing properties based on optical metasurface heterostructures for prevention and treatment of peri-implantitis.