Efficiency of biofilm removal by combination of water jet and cold plasma: an in-vitro study

Abstract

Background: Peri-implantitis therapy is a major problem in implantology. Because of challenging rough implant surface and implant geometry, microorganisms can hide and survive in implant microstructures and impede debridement. We developed a new water jet (WJ) device and a new cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) device to overcome these problems and investigated aspects of efficacy in vitro and safety with the aim to create the prerequisites for a clinical pilot study with these medical devices. Methods: We compared the efficiency of a single treatment with a WJ or curette and cotton swab (CC) without or with adjunctive use of CAP (WJ + CAP, CC + CAP) to remove biofilm in vitro from rough titanium discs. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by measuring turbidity up to 72 h for bacterial re-growth or spreading of osteoblast-like cells (MG-63) after 5 days with scanning electron microscopy. With respect to application safety, the WJ and CAP instruments were examined according to basic regulations for medical devices. Results: After 96 h of incubation all WJ and CC treated disks were turbid but 67% of WJ + CAP and 46% CC + CAP treated specimens were still clear. The increase in turbidity after WJ treatment was delayed by about 20 h compared to CC treatment. In combination with CAP the cell coverage significantly increased to 82% (WJ + CAP) or 72% (CC + CAP), compared to single treatment 11% (WJ) or 10% (CC). Conclusion: The newly developed water jet device effectively removes biofilm from rough titanium surfaces in vitro and, in combination with the new CAP device, biologically acceptable surfaces allow osteoblasts to grow. WJ in combination with CAP leads to cleaner surfaces than the usage of curette and cotton swabs with or without subsequent plasma treatment. Our next step will be a clinical pilot study with these new devices to assess the clinical healing process.