Bioinspired monomers for improved dental hard tissue-resin interfacial bonding

龋齿最常用的治疗方法是树脂填充材料修复。粘合剂用于使树脂填充物粘附在牙齿上。树脂也用于牙科美容、牙冠胶结和侵蚀牙齿的修复。树脂填充物的寿命被认为很低，平均只有7年。树脂填充物的更换占所有牙科手术的75%，其中60%是由于牙齿-填充物界面失效。发生这种情况主要是因为在粘接过程中，酸溶解牙齿矿物质，暴露牙齿的有机成分是必要的。有机成分含有酶，这些酶以休眠形式分泌，但被酸激活，一旦被激活，就能自我降解牙齿结构。通过在其配方中添加天然衍生的抗酶化合物（如儿茶素），已经尝试改善粘合剂的化学成分。然而，由于这些化合物是被动地添加到粘合剂中，它们也很快被释放出来，限制了它们的活性。这项研究计划的总体目标是开发和测试三种新型材料，其中儿茶素在化学上永久地与粘合剂结合。该基金的目标是：(1)合成和表征儿茶素改性牙胶粘剂；(2)探讨儿茶素改性牙胶粘剂抗酶活性的作用机制；(3)评价改性牙胶粘剂所获得的牙与填充物的长期结合强度和牙与树脂界面的完整性。通过不同的挑战和测试来完善这些新材料的配方，我们期望大大提高牙科填充手术的成功率。

The most employed treatment for decayed teeth is restoration with resin filling materials. Bonding agents are used to make resin fillings adhere to tooth. Resins are also used in cosmetic dentistry, crown cementation, and restorations of eroded teeth. Longevity of resin fillings is considered low with an average of 7 years. The replacement of resin fillings accounts for 75% of all procedures performed in general dentistry, of which 60% are due to failures at tooth-filling interface. This happens mainly because during bonding procedure it is essential that the tooth mineral is dissolved by acids exposing the organic component of the tooth. The organic component has enzymes that are secreted in a dormant form but get activated by acids, and once activated are able to self-degrade tooth structure. Attempts to improve the chemical composition of bonding agents, by adding naturally derived anti-enzymatic compounds (such as a catechin) to its formulations have been made. However, because such compounds are passively added to the bonding agents, they are also quickly released, limiting their activity. The overall objective of this research program is to develop and test three novel materials, where the catechin is chemically and permanently bound to the bonding agent. The objectives of this grant are: (1) To synthesize and characterize catechin modified dental adhesives; (2) To investigate mechanisms of anti-enzymatic activity produced by catechin modified dental adhesives; and (3) To evaluate long-term tooth to filling bond strength and tooth-resin interfacial integrity obtained by bonding agents based on modified dental adhesives. By perfecting the formulation of these novel materials through different challenges and tests we expect to considerably improve the success rates of dental filling procedures.