Yanling Cai

Dental adhesives with bioactive and on-demand bactericidal properties

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present work was to perform the first in vitro evaluation of a new interfacial bond-promoting material-and-method concept for on-demand long term bacteria inhibition in dental restoration procedures. METHODS The bioactivity, mechanical bonding strength and photocatalytic bactericidal properties, induced by low dose ultraviolet-A (UV-A) irradiation of dental adhesives containing crystalline titania nanoparticles (NPs), were analyzed. RESULTS Dental adhesives with a NP content of 20wt% were shown to be bioactive in terms of spontaneous hydroxylapatite formation upon storage in simulated body fluid and the bioactivity was found to be promoted by chemical etching of the adhesives. The mechanical bonding strength between the adhesives and a HA tooth model was shown to be unaffected by the NPs up to a NP content of 30wt%. Elimination of Staphylococcus epidermidis in contact with the adhesives was found to depend both on UV photocatalytic irradiation intensity and time. Efficient elimination of the bacteria could be achieved using a UV-A dose of 4.5J/cm(2) which is about 6 times below the safe maximum UV dose according to industry guidelines, and 20 times below the average UV-A dose received during an ordinary sun bed session. SIGNIFICANCE The combined features of bioactivity and on-demand bactericidal effect should open up the potential to create dental adhesives that reduce the incidence of secondary caries and promote closure of gaps forming at the interface towards the tooth via remineralization of adjacent tooth substance, as well as prevention of bacterial infections via on-demand UV-A irradiation.

A Method for Quantitative Determination of Biofilm Viability

In this study we present a scheme for quantitative determination of biofilm viability offering significant improvement over existing methods with metabolic assays. Existing metabolic assays for quantifying viable bacteria in biofilms usually utilize calibration curves derived from planktonic bacteria, which can introduce large errors due to significant differences in the metabolic and/or growth rates of biofilm bacteria in the assay media compared to their planktonic counterparts. In the presented method we derive the specific growth rate of Streptococcus mutans bacteria biofilm from a series of metabolic assays using the pH indicator phenol red, and show that this information could be used to more accurately quantify the relative number of viable bacteria in a biofilm. We found that the specific growth rate of S. mutans in biofilm mode of growth was 0.70 h−1, compared to 1.09 h−1 in planktonic growth. This method should be applicable to other bacteria types, as well as other metabolic assays, and, for example, to quantify the effect of antibacterial treatments or the performance of bactericidal implant surfaces.

Photocatalytic antibacterial effects are maintained on resin-based TiO2 nanocomposites after cessation of UV irradiation.

Photocatalysis induced by TiO2 and UV light constitutes a decontamination and antibacterial strategy utilized in many applications including self-cleaning environmental surfaces, water and air treatment. The present work reveals that antibacterial effects induced by photocatalysis can be maintained even after the cessation of UV irradiation. We show that resin-based composites containing 20% TiO2 nanoparticles continue to provide a pronounced antibacterial effect against the pathogens Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis for up to two hours post UV. For biomaterials or implant coatings, where direct UV illumination is not feasible, a prolonged antibacterial effect after the cessation of the illumination would offer new unexplored treatment possibilities.

Mesoporous titanium dioxide coating for metallic implants.

A bioactive mesoporous titanium dioxide (MT) coating for surface drug delivery has been investigated to develop a multifunctional implant coating, offering quick bone bonding and biological stability. An evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) method was used to prepare a mesoporous titanium dioxide coating of the anatase phase with BET surface area of 172 m(2)/g and average pore diameter of 4.3 nm. Adhesion tests using the scratch method and an in situ screw-in/screw-out technique confirm that the MT coating bonds tightly with the metallic substrate, even after removal from bone. Because of its high surface area, the bioactivity of the MT coating is much better than that of a dense TiO(2) coating of the same composition. Quick formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) in vitro can be related to enhance bonding with bone. The uptake of antibiotics by the MT coating reached 13.4 mg/cm(3) within a 24 h loading process. A sustained release behavior has been obtained with a weak initial burst. By using Cephalothin as a model drug, drug loaded MT coating exhibits a sufficient antibacterial effect on the material surface, and within millimeters from material surface, against E.coli. Additionally, the coated and drug loaded surfaces showed no cytotoxic effect on cell cultures of the osteoblastic cell line MG-63. In conclusion, this study describes a novel, biocompatiblemesoporous implant coating, which has the ability to induce HA formation and could be used as a surface drug-delivery system.

Photocatalytic inactivation of biofilms on bioactive dental adhesives

Biofilms are the most prevalent mode of microbial life in nature and are 10-1000 times more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic bacteria. Persistent biofilm growth associated at the margin of a dental restoration often leads to secondary caries, which remains a challenge in restorative dentistry. In this work, we present the first in vitro evaluation of on-demand photocatalytic inactivation of biofilm on a novel dental adhesive containing TiO2 nanoparticles. Streptococcus mutans biofilm was cultured on this photocatalytic surface for 16 h before photocatalytic treatment with ultraviolet-A (UV-A) light. UV-A doses ranging from 3 to 43 J/cm(2) were applied to the surface and the resulting viability of biofilms was evaluated with a metabolic activity assay incorporating phenol red that provided a quantitative measure of the reduction in viability due to the photocatalytic treatments. We show that an UV-A irradiation dose of 8.4 J/cm(2) leads to one order of magnitude reduction in the number of biofilm bacteria on the surface of the dental adhesives while as much as 5-6 orders of magnitude reduction in the corresponding number can be achieved with a dose of 43 J/cm(2). This material maintains its functional properties as an adhesive in restorative dentistry while offering the possibility of a novel dental procedure in the treatment or prevention of bacterial infections via on-demand UV-A irradiation. Similar materials could be developed for the treatment of additional indications such as peri-implantits.

Antibacterial Properties of Dental Luting Agents: Potential to Hinder the Development of Secondary Caries

A modified direct contact test was used to evaluate the antibacterial properties of four commercially available dental luting agents (RelyX Unicem, Ketac Cem, Ceramir Crown & Bridge and Harvard Cement) and two reference materials (glass-ionomer cement and calcium aluminate cement) compared to a negative-control material (PMMA). Streptococcus mutans bacteria were placed in direct contact with specimens that had been aged for 10 min, 1 day, and 7 days, in order to test the antibacterial properties of the materials. A metabolic assay containing resazurin was used to quantify the amount of viable bacteria remaining after the direct contact tests. The effects of pH and fluoride on bacteria proliferation were also evaluated. Strongest antibacterial properties were found for calcium aluminate cement, followed by Ceramir Crown & Bridge and RelyX Unicem. Ketac Cem, Harvard Cement, and the reference glass-ionomer cement showed bacteria content either higher than or not significantly different from the PMMA control in all instances. pH levels below 6.3 and above 9.0 were found to have negative effects on bacterial proliferation. No correlation between either acidic materials or fluoride release and antibacterial properties could be seen; rather, basic materials showed stronger antibacterial properties.

Bacteria viability assessment after photocatalytic treatment

The aim of the present work was to evaluate several methods for analyzing the viability of bacteria after antibacterial photocatalytic treatment. Colony-forming unit (CFU) counting, metabolic activity assays based on resazurin and phenol red and the Live/Dead®BacLight™ bacterial viability assay (Live/Dead staining) were employed to assess photocatalytically treated Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus mutans. The results showed conformity between CFU counting and the metabolic activity assays, while Live/Dead staining showed a significantly higher viability post-treatment. This indicates that the Live/Dead staining test may not be suitable for assessing bacterial viability after photocatalytic treatment and that, in general, care should be taken when selecting a method for determining the viability of bacteria subjected to photocatalysis. The present findings are expected to become valuable for the development and evaluation of photocatalytically based disinfection applications.

Photocatalysis induces bioactivity of an organic polymer based material

Several materials, like bioglasses, sintered hydroxyapatite and Ti metals and alloys, have the ability to bond to living bone in vivo, which is a desirable property of biomaterials called bioactivi ...

Contribution of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in the bactericidal effect of TiO2photocatalysis

Contribution of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in the bactericidal effect of TiO2photocatalysis