Prevention of bacterial biofilm formation on orthodontic brackets by non-crosslinked chitosan coating

Yue Wang; Jingchen Xu; Chenhao Yu; Xueer Zhou; Lili Chang; Jun Liu; Qiang Peng

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126283

Prevention of bacterial biofilm formation on orthodontic brackets by non-crosslinked chitosan coating

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Aug 14:251:126283. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126283. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yue Wang¹, Jingchen Xu¹, Chenhao Yu¹, Xueer Zhou¹, Lili Chang¹, Jun Liu², Qiang Peng³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. Electronic address: junliu@scu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. Electronic address: qiangpengzz@scu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37582431
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126283

Abstract

During orthodontic treatment, the patients are susceptible to dental caries as a result of the bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation around the orthodontic brackets. Prevention of the caries-related biofilm formation is of significance for maintaining both aesthetics and health of the teeth. Herein, the brackets were functionalized with antibacterial activity via coating a layer of non-crosslinked chitosan (CS). We firstly demonstrated the ability of free CS scaffolds (not coated on brackets) to inhibit the formation of Streptococcus mutans biofilms (inhibition rate 94.3 % for CS-0.3 mg) and to eradicate the mature biofilms (biofilm loss rate 99.8 % for CS-1.2 mg). Further, the inhibition of S. mutans biofilm formation on brackets by CS coating was investigated for the first time. As a result, the CS-coated brackets (Br-CS) kept the great biofilm inhibition capacity of free CS scaffolds. In detail, the Br-CS, prepared by immersing brackets in CS solutions (containing 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10 mg/mL CS) and freeze-drying, showed the biofilm inhibition rate of 48.5 %, 88.6 %, 96.4 % and 99.6 %, respectively. In conclusion, coating orthodontic brackets with the non-crosslinked CS is a potential approach for inhibiting biofilm formation and protecting patients from dental caries.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; Carbohydrate polymers; Cariogenic; Chitosan; Fixed appliance.