Experimental use of cold stimulation improves osteointegration in dental implants, suggesting TRPM8 activation may aid bone healing.
Electrical signals serve as important modulators in bone regeneration, yet recreating this self-sustaining bioelectrical microenvironment at the peri-implant interface remains challenging. In this study, we engineered pyroelectric nanostructure coatings on titanium (Ti) implants to enhance implant osteointegration through temperature fluctuation-driven electrical stimulation. The pyroelectric titanium (pyroTi) implants leverage the combined effects of the pyroelectric effect and cold stimulation to amplify calcium ion (Ca²⁺) influx by activating cold-sensitive transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) ion channel, therefore driving osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). As a demonstration, pyroTi used as a dental implant in the rabbit maxilla showed enhanced osteointegration under routine cold-water intake. This study establishes a proof of concept for pyroelectric biomaterials that harness physiological temperature variations to potentiate bone-implant integration.
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Li et al. (2026) studied this question.
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