Simvastatin enhanced antimicrobial effect of Ag⁺ against E. faecalis infection of dentine through PLGA co-delivery submicron particles

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is one of the dominant bacteria for refractory infections of teeth. Silver ions (Ag⁺) have been proved to be a strong bactericide but with high cytotoxicity and discoloration property. Simvastatin is an agent used for dyslipidemia treatment and has anti-inflammatory property. In this study, Ag⁺ and simvastatin were for the first time used in combination, and poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) submicron particles carrying both Ag⁺ and simvastatin (AgS-PLGA) were fabricated for further investigations. Results confirmed the enhanced antibacterial activity against E. faecalis of Ag⁺ by simvastatin. AgS-PLGA could release both Ag⁺ and simvastatin for 24 days and also showed enhanced antibacterial activities. On dentin slices, AgS-PLGA could enter dentinal tubules by ultrasonic activation and inhibit the colonization of E. faecalis. AgS-PLGA showed no cytotoxicity on MC3T3-E1 cells and slight suppressive effect on RAW-264.7 cells, and could reduce the secretion of IL-6 and IL-1β of RAW-264.7 cells. AgS-PLGA could be developed as a new biomaterial for infection and inflammation control for dental and related medical treatments.

Keywords:

• Simvastatin
• silver
• PLGA
• antibacterial agent
• E. faecalis

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81570969 and 81771067).