(PR37) The Effect of Smart Composite Biomaterial with Piezoelectric Properties on Fusobacterium Nucleatum and Enterococcus Faecalis

Abstract: Endodontic and Periodontal diseases are prevalent multifactorial diseases leading to inflammation, tooth loss, and systemic disease. Fusobacterium nucleatum and Enterococcus faecalis play a key role by organizing the pathogenic species within the biofilm that induces the disease. The aim of this study was to explore the antibacterial effects of a piezoelectric biomaterial (Barium Titanate - BTO) against F. nucleatum and E. faecalis. The antibacterial effects were tested using a single species biofilm model. Inoculation and biofilm growth was conducted under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. To assess the antibacterial effects, we quantified the biofilm biomass via crystal violet and metabolic activity via MTT. Fluorescence microscopy was used to classify live/dead cells.

Conclusions: Our preliminary results showed that charged BTO affects F. nucleatum by reducing the number of live bacteria without affecting the metabolic activity, suggesting that F. nucleatum may have a higher affinity for charged surfaces. The higher surface roughness of BTO could also have contributed to the increased biofilm biomass on the BTO samples. The metabolic activity was unchanged and had no significant difference between samples. Additional studies are required with E. faecalis to study the influence of electrical charge and explore other pathogenic species. The development of the proposed technology has the potential to impact the dental field and enhance patients’ quality of life by reducing the burden of endodontic and periodontal disease through various applications, including the incorporation of BTO into resins for subgingival restorations and used as intracanal medicaments in gel substrates in non-surgical endodontic therapy.