Influence of nanocomposite surface coating on biofilm formation in situ

Caries and periodontitis, the most wide-spread oral diseases around the world, are caused by bacterial adherence and biofilm formation onto the natural as well as restored tooth surface. One possible way to prevent the pathogenic consequences of intraoral biofilm formation might be the modification of the tooth surface by application of an anti-adhesive coating that interferes with the bacterial attachment and subsequent bacterial accumulation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of an experimental, low surface free energy nano-composite coating material on biofilm formation in situ. For this purpose, an organic/inorganic nano-composite coating (NANOMER, INM, Saarbrücken, Germany) with a surface free energy of 18-20 mJ/m2 was applied to enamel as well as titanium specimens. The nano-composite coated specimens and un-coated controls were attached to removable intraoral splints and carried by volunteers over 24 h in the oral cavity. After intraoral exposure, specimens were processed for transmission electron microscopic analysis. On non-coated enamel and titanium control samples a multi-layer of adherent bacteria was found. In contrast, on nano-composite coated specimens strongly reduced biofilm formation was observed. In most areas of the surface-coated specimens only a 10-20 nm thick electron dense layer of adsorbed salivary proteins with adherent protein agglomerates of 20-80 nm diameter could be detected. In addition, detachment of the adsorbed biofilm from the nano-composite coated surfaces was evident in electron microscopic micrographs. The present investigation provides ultrastructural evidence that it is possible to cover enamel as well as titanium with a nano-composite coating revealing easy-to-clean surface properties that cause reduced biofilm formation and accelerated removal of adherent biofilms under oral conditions.