Positively-charged Dimethacrylates to Reduce Bacterial Attachment

Published

March 30, 2012

Author(s)

Nancy J. Lin, Joseph M. Antonucci, Diana N. Zeiger, Sheng Lin-Gibson, Kathy Tang

Abstract

The widespread incidence of recurrent tooth decay (caries) highlights the need for improved dental restorative materials. Caries are most frequently caused by acid-producing bacterial biofilms. One approach for developing biomaterials with reduced biofouling is to include quaternary ammonium salts, which are known to adversely affect biofilm growth.1 For instance, cationic, monomethacrylate monomers have been developed to impart antibacterial activity to polymeric dental materials.2,3 However, with only one methacrylate group per molecule, incorporation of high concentrations of monomethacrylates into dimethacrylate-based dental polymers will likely alter the overall polymer network structures and properties. We recently utilized a simple approach to synthesize an ionic dimethacrylate (IDMA) monomer containing a quaternary ammonium functionality (IDMA-1).4 IDMA-1 was designed to be miscible with common dimethacrylate dental monomers while containing two methacrylate groups for improved copolymerization properties. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of IDMA-1 incorporation into dental polymers on the material properties and biological response, including bacterial growth on and cytotoxicity of the modified polymers.

Citation

Biomaterials Forum

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

Bacterial adhesion, Cytotoxicity, Dental restorative material, Degree of conversion, Dimethacrylate monomer, Menschutkin reaction, MTT assay, Quaternary ammonium salts, Streptococcus mutans, Surface charge density

Citation

Lin, N. , Antonucci, J. , Zeiger, D. , Lin-Gibson, S. and Tang, K. (2012), Positively-charged Dimethacrylates to Reduce Bacterial Attachment, Biomaterials Forum (Accessed May 10, 2025)