Drug loading capacity of microporous β-pyrophosphate crystals

Periodontitis and peri-implantitis are two characteristic examples where bacterial infections compromise the healing of dental tissues. Drug eluting scaffolds are a potential solution to this problem but their fabrication requires suitable biomaterialswith significant drug loading capacity and regenerative potential to support newtissue formation. With this aim, porous ss-pyrophosphate crystals having a micro-pore area of 2.59 m(2)/g and an average pore diameter of 65 nm, have been obtained by the heat treatment of brushite (at 780 degrees C). To demonstrate the drug loading potential of the mineral, experiments with chloramphenicol have been conducted. After testswith four common bacteria, the drug loaded mineralwas shown to have enhanced antibacterial properties, particularly towards E. coli (74% growth inhibition) and S. aureus (48% growth inhibition). Taking into account ss-pyrophosphate's significant role in hard tissue mineralisation and the capability to tailor crystal microporosity characteristics by controlled heat treatment, the mineral can be considered as an ideal biomaterial for localised drug delivery in dental applications. Crown Copyright (c) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.