Bioinspired monomers for improved dental hard tissue-resin interfacial bonding

龋齿最常用的治疗方法是用树脂充填材料进行修复。粘结剂是用来使树脂填充物附着在牙齿上的。树脂还用于美容牙科、牙冠粘接和腐蚀牙齿的修复。树脂填充物的寿命被认为较低，平均为7年。在普通牙科手术中，树脂充填的更换占所有操作的75%，其中60%是由于牙体充填界面的故障。这主要是因为在粘接过程中，牙齿矿物质必须被酸溶解，暴露出牙齿的有机成分。这种有机成分的酶以休眠的形式分泌，但被酸激活，一旦被激活，就能够自我降解牙齿结构。人们试图通过在其配方中添加天然衍生的抗酶化合物(如儿茶素)来改善键合剂的化学成分。然而，由于这些化合物被被动地添加到键合剂中，它们也会迅速释放，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材料，其中儿茶素以化学方式永久结合到粘结剂上。这项资助的目标是：(1)合成和表征儿茶素改性牙科粘合剂；(2)研究儿茶素改性牙科粘合剂产生抗酶活性的机制；以及(3)评估以改性牙科粘合剂为基础的粘结剂获得的长期牙齿与充填粘接强度和牙齿-树脂界面的完整性。通过通过不同的挑战和测试来完善这些新材料的配方，我们期望显著提高牙齿充填过程的成功率。

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.