Evaporation strategy generated antibacterial enamel-like fluorapatite-polyacrylic acid sheet for functional dental restoration

Abstract

Dental enamel exhibits outstanding mechanical properties and plays essential roles in physiological activities. Dental caries destroys the integrity as well as the mechanical property of enamel. Resin and other restorative materials filled in the caries cavities may cause microleakage and secondary caries. Although a thin layer of enamel-like structure can be generated on the tooth surface in the laboratory, scale-up fabrication of enamel-like structures appropriate for clinical applications has never been achieved. The aim of the study was to generate a large-scale enamel-like structure as a dental restoration material. We developed a novel strategy that successfully assembled fluorapatite (FAP) nanoparticles with antibacterial low-molecular-weight polyacrylic acid (LPAA) into a centimeter-scale, aligned, and antibacterial functionalized enamel-like structure. This was achieved by the fast evaporation of calcification solution containing LPAA on a soluble substrate to control the nucleation and growth of FAP crystals. Moreover, LPAA contained in the enamel-like structure was first proved to be able to kill streptococcus mutans, which has the advantage of resisting secondary caries caused by cariogenic bacteria.