The role of micro- and nanotopography for implant healing in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Bone anchored implants improves the physical function and quality of life for millions of patients globally.

However, for patients with compromised healing conditions, failure is a clinical reality; devastating for the patients, and a growing burden for society.Most urgent of these is diabetes mellitus (DM), with alarming increase in prevalence, predicted 700 million affected by 2045 (almost 50% of them undiagnosed), with an additional nearly 600 million having impaired glucose tolerance, or “prediabetes”. 90-95% of the diabetic cases has a type-2 (T2DM) pathogenetic background, where the disease manifests from the interplay of genetic susceptibility and lifestyle factors.The primary purpose of the project is to understand the role of the micro- and nanotopography on the healing in diabetic conditions.

The long-term objective is to optimize biomaterial-based therapies for the ever-increasing population with T2DM.We have the models and methods to systematically alter the micro- and nanotopography, to probe and understand the interaction between implant surface and the bone in terms of cellular activity, structure, composition and biomechanical function.

In vitro screening methods for pinpointing the optimal micro- and nanotopograhy for specific cellular functions in diabetic conditions.

The interdisciplinary nature of the project group enables translational aspects, bringing advanced material science into the clinic, while training PhD students in excellent basic science.