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BUCHAREST, Romania: Owing to heavy wear and tear in the mouth, typical dental fillings made out of a mixture of metals or composites of powdered glass and ceramic often need repairing. Aiming to find a material that does not corrode like metal fillings do, but is stronger than common composite materials, a new study has found graphene oxide to be a promising candidate for strong, non-toxic fillings that do not corrode.
In the study, a team of international researchers investigated the cytotoxic properties of different types of graphene and their potential application to dental materials. “The idea of the project was to add graphene into dental materials in order to increase their resistance to corrosion and to improve their mechanical properties,” explained Dr Stela Pruneanu from the National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies in Cluj-Napoca in Romania.
Due to contradictory information regarding the cytotoxicity of graphene, the researchers first determined the toxicity of the material for teeth. In order to do so, they analysed different forms of graphene, including graphene oxide, thermally-reduced graphene oxide and nitrogen-doped graphene.
Thermally-reduced graphene oxide was found to be highly toxic, while nitrogen-doped graphene caused membrane damage at high doses (20 and 40 micrograms per millilitre), making both inappropriate for use in dental filling materials. However, the latter showed to have antioxidant-like properties, making it potentially useful if covered in a protective layer, the researchers found. In comparing the three types of graphene, graphene oxide was found to be the least toxic.
“The results were very interesting and proved that graphene is appropriate for use in dental materials,” said Dr Gabriela Adriana Filip, Associate Professor at Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca.
The researchers believe that their findings may result in the future application of graphene-based materials in dentistry. The team stated that the next step for them is to make dental materials with graphene oxide and test how compatible they are with teeth.
The study was a joint effort by researchers from Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, the National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies and the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, both located in Cluj-Napoca in Romania, as well as Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Basseterre in the West Indies. The research was conducted as part of a project entitled “New nanocomposites based on biocompatible polymers and graphene for dental applications”.
The study, titled “Cytotoxicity assessment of graphene-based nanomaterials on human dental follicle stem cells”, was published online on 21 October in the Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces journal.
From http://www.dental-tribune.com
