The impact of customized surface topography and porosity created by additive manufacturing technology on gingival fibroblasts.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze gingival fibroblast proliferation on additively manufactured polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) groups with different surface characteristics namely no treatment group (NTG) and customized 250 µm diameter porosity (AM-250G) group.

Materials and methods: 3D-printed NTG was compared for its influence on growth of cells to a additively manufactured surface with porosity (AM-250G). For each group (NTG, AM-250G) 20 samples of material were tested. Fibroblast cells, at a concentration of 2.5 × 10⁴ cells/mL, were seeded into 48 plates separately into two groups (NTG, AM-250G). These were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) at 37°C and 5% CO2 atmosphere. For cell proliferation MTT assay was conducted at 24, 48, and 72 h. Cell proliferation was quantified through optical density (OD) measurements of the cell supernatant, and surface analysis was conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Data normality was confirmed by the Shapiro-Wilk test, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Statistical analysis was conducted using an independent Student's t-test at each time point.

Results: A significant difference in cell proliferation was observed at 24 h, with the NTG group showing higher cell numbers compared to AM-250G group. Qualitative analysis of cell culture was performed using scanning electron microscopy to compare to the NTG and the porosity (AM-250G) groups after 24, 48, and 72 h of fibroblast tissue attachment. No significant differences were observed between the groups at the 48 and 72-h intervals.

Conclusions: At 24 h, the NTG surface demonstrated superior cell proliferation compared to the surface with porosity (AM-250G). However, significant differences in cell growth on both materials at 48 and 72 h, suggesting that both surface types eventually support similar levels of cell proliferation, with an increase of extensive spread and elongation of fibroblasts cells proliferation on the surface with porosity.