Highly flexible antibiotic implants for root canal treatment

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Endodontics
• Microbiology

Background:

• Bacterial eradication in root canals is critical for endodontic success.
• Current irrigation solutions lack sustained antimicrobial action, and medicaments pose removal challenges.
• A novel, flexible antimicrobial implant is proposed to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a flexible antimicrobial poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVA) implant for endodontic applications.
• To assess the implant's physicochemical properties, drug release kinetics, and in vivo efficacy.

Main Methods:

• PEVA screening and selection for optimal properties.
• Ram extrusion fabrication of implants with tunable diameters (0.3-1.5 mm).
• Physicochemical characterization, gentamicin release studies, ex vivo implantation, and in vivo Galleria mellonella model testing against Enterococcus faecalis.

Main Results:

• Optimized PEVA implants were successfully fabricated with controlled diameters.
• Demonstrated sustained release of gentamicin from the implants.
• In vivo studies showed significant effectiveness against Enterococcus faecalis, improving larval survival rates.

Conclusions:

• The developed antimicrobial PEVA implants show potential as a novel strategy for endodontic bacterial eradication.
• Further evaluation under multispecies biofilm conditions is warranted for future applications as temporary infills.