Nanofibers as drug-delivery systems for infection control in dentistry

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Due to the complexity of different oral infections, new anti-infective nanotechnological approaches have been emerging for dentistry in recent years. These strategies may contribute to antimicrobial molecules delivery, tissue regeneration, and oral health maintenance by acting in a more specific site and not being cytotoxic. In this context, nanofibers appear as versatile structures and might act both in the release of antimicrobial molecules and as a scaffold for new tissue formation.

Areas covered

This review addresses the application of different nanofibers as new strategies for the delivery of antimicrobial molecules for dentistry. Here, we present the main polymers used to construct nanofibers, methods of production and mainly their antimicrobial activity against microorganisms commonly responsible for the usual dental infections. These biomaterials may be associated to restorative materials, prostheses, and mucoadhesive structures. Besides, nanofibers can be used for endodontic or periodontal therapy, or even on implant surfaces.

Expert opinion

A wide variety of studies report the potential application of anti-infective nanofibers in the oral cavity. Although there are still several barriers between in vitro and in vivo studies, these new formulations appear as promising new therapies for dentistry.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-infective nanofibers
• drug-delivery
• nanodentistry
• nanofibers
• nanomaterials

Article highlights

• Nanofibers are versatile nanomaterials that might emerge as new drug-delivery systems for dentistry.

• Electrospinning is the main method to construct nanofibers for dentistry.

• Several polymers such as poly(caprolactone), poly(p-dioxanone), and chitosan are used to develop nanofibers, while ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, doxycycline, tetracycline are the antimicrobials most incorporated in these nanostructures.

• Most of the studies involving the anti-infective activity of nanofibers are in vitro, or ex vivo and only a few studies involve humans.

Nanofibers might be used to develop new anti-caries restorative materials, endodontic and periodontal therapies, implant coating or prostheses.

This box summarizes key points contained in the article.

Acknowledgments

All figures in this study were developed with the support of biorender.com.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (409196/2018-5), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (88887.202222/2018-00), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAPDF) (0193.001702/2017), and Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT) (59/300.397/2015).