Biofilm-Resistant Dental Unit Water Lines

提出的研究将研究用一种新颖而廉价的单线态氧光敏剂对牙科单元水管的改性。利用低功率可见光将水中的溶解氧提升为单线态氧。通常从室内光线进入半透明管的光线应该是足够的。单线态氧一直被认为是一种有效的消毒剂。这个第一阶段的研究将验证聚氨酯酯管，这是最常用的牙科单位水管，可以用光敏剂进行化学改性。第二种形式的管道，基于聚氯乙烯，也将生产使用相同的化学物质，以增加一个有用的产品的可能性。考察了化学工艺和单线态氧对管材的影响，以及管材中增塑剂对光敏剂的影响。光敏剂的照明要求将从横截面和横向两方面进行研究。由于需要如此少量的光，半透明的管子可以用来将光分配到牙科单元的阴影区域。在每个阶段，管道将受到污染的水，并评估生物膜的发展。

The proposed research will investigate the modification of Dental unit water lines with a novel yet inexpensive photosensitizer for singlet oxygen. The dissolved oxygen in the water is promoted to singlet oxygen using low power visible light. The light that normally passes into the translucent tubing from room light should be sufficient. Singlet oxygen has long been known as a potent disinfectant. This Phase I research will verify that polyurethane ester tubing, that which is most commonly used for Dental unit water lines, may be chemically modified with the photosensitizer. A second form of tubing, based on PVC, also will be produced using the same chemistry to increase the probability of a useful product. The effects of the chemical process and singlet oxygen on the tubing material and the effects of the plasticizers used in the tubing on the photosensitizer will be examined. The lighting requirements for the photosensitizer will be investigated both cross-sectionally and laterally. Since such a small amount of light is required, the translucent tubing may be used to distribute the light into shaded regions of the Dental unit. At each stage, tubing will be subjected to contaminated water and evaluated for the development of biofilm.