Titanium dental implants are commonly used for the replacement of lost teeth, but they present a considerable number of failures due to the infection on surrounding tissues. The aim of this paper is the development of a polyethylene glycol-like (PEG-like) coating on the titanium surface by plasma polymerization to obtain a novel improved surface with suitable low bacterial adhesion and adequate cell response. Surface analysis data of these coatings are presented, in particular, water contact angle, surface roughness, and film chemistry, demonstrating the presence of a PEG-like coating. Streptococcus sanguinis and Lactobacillus salivarius bacterial adhesion assays showed a decreased adhesion on the plasma polymerized samples, while cell adhesion of fibroblasts and osteoblasts on the treated surfaces was similar to control surfaces. Thus, the PEG-like antifouling coating obtained by plasma polymerization on Ti confers this biomaterial's highly suitable properties for dental applications, as they reduce the possibility of infection while allowing the tissue integration around the implant.

Three methods for the production of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) coatings on titanium are compared, i.e. plasma polymerization, electrodeposition and silanization. The compared deposition methods presented similar wettability (hydrophilic coatings), chemical composition assessed by XPS and thickness around 1nm. The coatings lowered albumin adsorption and presented a decreased fibroblast, Streptococcus sanguinis and Lactobacillus salivarius adhesion. Immobilization of a cell adhesion peptide (RGD) presented a higher fibroblast adhesion and no alteration of the bacterial adhesion, giving three methods for the biofunctionalization of titanium for dental implants. The feasibility of each methodology is compared in terms of the process parameters in order to provide a guide for the election of the methodology.