Surface Modifications of High-Performance Polymer Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) to Improve Its Biological Performance in Dentistry

This comprehensive review focuses on polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a synthetic thermoplastic polymer, for applications in dentistry. As a high-performance polymer, PEEK is intrinsically robust yet biocompatible, making it an ideal substitute for titanium—the current gold standard in dentistry. PEEK, however, is also inert due to its low surface energy and brings challenges when employed in dentistry. Inert PEEK often falls short of achieving a few critical requirements of clinical dental materials, such as adhesiveness, osseoconductivity, antibacterial properties, and resistance to tribocorrosion. This study aims to review these properties and explore the various surface modification strategies that enhance the performance of PEEK. Literatures searches were conducted on Google Scholar, Research Gate, and PubMed databases using PEEK, polyetheretherketone, osseointegration of PEEK, PEEK in dentistry, tribology of PEEK, surface modifications, dental applications, bonding strength, surface topography, adhesive in dentistry, and dental implant as keywords. Literature on the topics of surface modification to increase adhesiveness, tribology, and osseointegration of PEEK were included in the review. The unavailability of full texts was considered when excluding literature. Surface modifications via chemical strategies (such as sulfonation, plasma treatment, UV treatment, surface coating, surface polymerization, etc.) and/or physical approaches (such as sandblasting, laser treatment, accelerated neutral atom beam, layer-by-layer assembly, particle leaching, etc.) discussed in the literature are summarized and compared. Further, approaches such as the incorporation of bioactive materials, e.g., osteogenic agents, antibacterial agents, etc., to enhance the abovementioned desired properties are explored. This review presents surface modification as a critical and essential approach to enhance the biological performance of PEEK in dentistry by retaining its mechanical robustness

Effectiveness of activated carbon magnetic composite from banana peel (Musa acuminata) for recovering iron metal ions

Banana peel (Musa Acuminata) contains cellulose that can be used as a carbon-making material. In this study, the activated carbon from banana peel was modified with magnetite to recover iron metal ions in the solution. The manufacture of carbon from banana peels was done by carbonization at a temperature of 450 °C and activated under alkaline conditions with NaOH. The synthesis of activated carbon magnetite composite used FeCl3 and FeSO4 as precursors. The synthesized material was characterized by TGA, FTIR, XRD, and VSM. The thermal stability of activated carbon has increased after the activation process with NaOH. The magnetite composite has formed with saturation magnetization value (Ms) of 14.06 emu/g which is superparamagnetic material. The acidity of the adsorption system influenced this biosorbent effectiveness for the adsorption of iron metal ions in solution. The most optimal adsorption conditions occurred at a pH 6. The optimal adsorption condition is consistent with the Fe(II) adsorption kinetics model using ACM, namely pseudo-second-order with qe = 10.020 mg g−1. The variations in pH affect the Fe(II) adsorption process with ACM, but the adsorption time did not affect the Fe(II) adsorption process with ACM. The adsorption process of Fe(II) with ACM can run optimally in the range of pH ≥ 6 (base condition). The adsorption process at various pH systems did not affect the structure of the activated carbon magnetite (ACM)