Tougher and lighter dental implant crowns will be fabricated from cellulose-based nanocomposites

Nature supplies distinctive insights into design methods advanced by residing organisms to assemble sturdy supplies. In this case, the analysis group was capable of create a brand new impact-resistant materials impressed by the dactyl membership of the mantis shrimp. The new materials may very well be utilized in purposes that require withstanding repetitive excessive strain-rate impacts whereas sustaining structural integrity. The analysis outcomes have been revealed on 1 September 2021 in Advanced Materials.

A analysis group at VTT’s succeeded in designing and producing a mineralized biocomposite exhibiting high strength, stiffness, and fracture toughness that resembles the architectural design of the dactyl membership of the mantis shrimp.

“These mesmerizing shrimps are one of nature’s deadliest killing machines. In relation to their small size, they pack the strongest punch in the animal kingdom. They smash their prey by throwing a pair of hammer-like raptorial appendages with a tremendous speed and force greater than rifle bullets during close-range hunting,” explains Dr. Pezhman Mohammadi, Research Scientist at VTT. “The mantis shrimp’s primary sources of food are hard-shell marine organisms, such as mollusks. To get to the soft, nutritious part they obliterate straight through these highly mineralized exoskeletons.”

Earlier research have proven that the membership is a multiphase hierarchically ordered nanocomposite with graded mechanical properties. “The club has a soft interior layer providing energy dissipation and a stiff, hard, and impact-resistant exterior layer. Together, the layers enhance the overall damage tolerance of the club. Both layers have similar building blocks, but in different relative content, polymorphic form, and organization. The main building block is helicoidally ordered chitin nano-fibrils that are glued together by a protein-rich matrix,” tells Mohammadi.

Combining cellulose nanocrystals and proteins

The analysis group replicated this construction by utilizing related constructing blocks and processing situations. They assembled a brand new composite, which consists of cellulose nanocrystals and two forms of genetically engineered proteins. One protein was designed to extend the interfacial energy of the fabric and the opposite to mediate nucleation and development of hydroxyapatite crystals. This new composite was processed into intricate shapes by manufacturing it right into a dental implant crown with periodic patterns of micro-reinforcement orientation, and a bilayer structure much like human tooth. With additional investigation, the proteins may very well be engineered to supply new traits to the fabric.

For future purposes, the scalability and processing situations of the fabric want additional improvement.