| Grant number: | 15/03424-1 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Effective date (Start): | October 01, 2015 |
| Effective date (End): | March 31, 2017 |
| Field of knowledge: | Health Sciences - Dentistry - Dental Clinics |
| Principal Investigator: | Marlise Inêz Klein Furlan |
| Grantee: | Guilherme Roncari Rocha |
| Home Institution: | Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The development of efficacious therapies to control oral biofilms is challenging. Many infectious diseases in humans, including those occurring in the mouth, are caused by virulent biofilms. Topical agents used to treat or prevent oral diseases are generally not retained in the mouth for sufficient duration to exert their full therapeutic potential due to rapid clearance by saliva and food ingestion. Thus, novel strategies for biofilm control focused on retention and sustained delivery of active agents at the site where virulent biofilm develops are warranted. Therefore, nanoparticle carriers (NPC) that bind avidly to hydroxyapatite (the main mineral component of teeth), to tooth pellicle and exopolysaccharides (the major components of biofilm's extracellular matrix) were developed (ACS Nano, 2015; DOI: 10.1021/nn507170s). NPC contains pH-responsive elements that facilitate controlled-release of therapeutic agents within acidic environments, which are found in pathogenic oral biofilms. Hydrophobic antimicrobials (anti-biofilm) such as farnesol can be chemically linked to and released from NPC. Topical treatments with NPC linked farnesol decreases the biomass of pathogenic biofilm and the number and severity of carious lesions in an animal model. However, the optimization of NPC is necessary for increased efficiency to eradicate the formation of pathogenic biofilm, and also for binding to distinct dental materials, because failures of restorative/rehabilitation treatments are frequently associated to the occurrence of new caries lesions. Therefore, the aims of this proposal are to evaluate the binding and retention of NPC, as well as the release of anti-biofilm agents to control the formation of pathogenic biofilms on distinct dental materials (vs. hydroxyapatite). (AU) | |