Adsorción de Nanopartículas de Plata Sobre Gutapercha. Inhibición de la Proliferación Bacteriana

FIORELA GHILINI; DIEGO E. PISSINIS; ALEJANDRO MIÑAN; PATRICIA L. SCHILARDI

Congreso; Congreso Internacional de Metalurgia Y Materiales SAM-CONAMET/IBEROMAT/MATERIA 2014; 2014

Surfaces, in particular those that are part of biomedical devices, are highly susceptible to the colonization by microorganisms, resulting in the formation of biofilms, and the subsequent contamination of the device, which can lead to infections. The increasing of the microbial resistance to multiple antibiotics drives the development of novel strategies, including the immobilization of new antimicrobial agents on the surface of interest, which promote the inhibition of adhesion and bacterial growth during the early stages of the biofilm formation. The use of implantable materials and devices is a common practice in odontology. Endodontic therapy is a usual treatment for the elimination of infections in the root canal and protects the tooth from future microbial invasion. This therapy involves the elimination of nerve tissue, blood vessels and other cellular entities which together constitute the dental pulp and the cleaning and obturation of the decontaminated canals with an inert filling agent such as gutta-percha. Gutta-percha is the best material used for this purpose, although its sterilization, either chemically or by heat, is difficult. The aim of this work is to immobilize silver nanoparticles on the surface of gutta-percha in order to inhibit the bacterial adhesion and the subsequent proliferation of microorganisms. The adsorption of silver nanoparticles on the gutta-percha was accomplished by dipping the gutta-percha cone in a dispersion of citrate-capped silver nanoparticles having ~ 60 nm in diameter. Surface analysis was performed by AFM, EDXS and XPS. The amount of adsorbed silver was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy, of the aqueous dissolution obtained after the oxidation of the nanoparticles . The immobilization of nanoparticles on Zn oxide present in the gutta-percha would be conducted through the carboxyl functional group of the citrate capping. The modified surface of gutta-percha was successful in the inhibition of the bacterial proliferation, evidenced by bacterial growth assays.