shicartermedical

With our headquarters based in London England and production facilities in Suzhou, China, SHICARTER|MEDICAL LTD has a great start as an international technology startup. Our aim is to be a global leader in regenerative dentistry by the year 2025. In collaboration with research facilities, universities and government organizations in the Peoples Republic of China, and the United Kindom, SCM personnel work diligently to engineer new materials at the nano-scale. SCM products and services are tailored towards both to the EU and Chinese markets.

Technology Benefits:

Engineered for use in patients with poor bone quality:

89% of implant failed when implanted into smoking patients, with a drop of 17.7% survival rate when compared to non-smokers. Our technology tackles this issue directly by focusing on speeding up the rate of secondary stability. Reduced healing times from 6-8 weeks to 2-4 weeks, which reduces therapy from 6 months to 3 months.

Increased cell proliferation and bone formation:

The aligned nano-topology promoted osteocalcin (OCN) expression and increases mineralization. Our coatings produce five times more OCN than non-coated surfaces. These surfaces also show three times more cell density when compared to the density of bone forming cells grown on plasma sprayed surfaces. Finally, it has been shown that an increased level of bone ingrowth is observed when compared to non-coated porous implants.

Greater cell adhesion:

Can be used with or without the application of a magnetic field, which has been shown to improve cell adhesion. Cell adhesion was significantly increased, and an observation of adhesion molecules was shown to be up-regulated when compared to non-coated surfaces.

Chemically biocompatible and controllable product:

Our product is an apatite-based material that is chemically similar to bone. By engineering the material at the nano-scale it has been possible to control the behavior of the cells.

Plasma spraying is riddled with numerous problems. The process has a limited control over the chemistry of the coating. the production of amorphous phases and non-biocompatible calcium phosphate phases compromise the integrity of the coating. Amorphous phases lead to mechanical and adhesive instability.

Able to coat a greater range of implant designs:

As previously stated, plasma sprayed coatings produce apatite with low crystallinity. The lower the crystallinity of the apatite the faster it will dissolve. In order to combat these coatings are made to a thickness of 300 μm. The first issue this creates is that the thickness itself leads to coating fracture and delamination, which leads to implant failure. By comparison, the size of the porous structures is typically 10 - 30 μm. this means that plasma spraying is not a suitable method for coating porous implants.

Competitive costs when compared to conventional methods

The most popular method for apatite coatings within the industrial field is plasma spraying. This method requires high temperatures in order to vaporize and deposit the apatite onto the surface of the dental and osteo- implant surface. Within the academic field, the hydrothermal method is used for synthesis. This method also requires high temperature and pressure to form the desired coatings. Our coatings are able to form at a reduced temperature.