Composite materials of amorphous calcium phosphate and bioactive glass nanoparticles for preventive dentistry

Amorphous calcium phosphates and bioactive glasses are two of the most used materials in dentistry thanks to their ability to release remineralizing ions and reduce dentinal hypersensitivity by occluding exposed dentinal tubules. Here, we have synthesized composites of fluoride-doped amorphous calcium phosphate (FACP) and mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs) to obtain functional materials that possess both the capability to release dental remineralizing ions of FACP and both the excellent desensitizing activity of MBGNs. The procedure described in this work allows us to obtain FACP/MBGN composites with different compositions (i.e., FACP:MBGN weight ratio) in which the components have formed a deeply intertwined nanostructure. Composites’ ion release (i.e. Ca, P, F, and Si) in acidic artificial saliva is different from that of the single components or their physical mixture, corroborating the formation of composite materials. Moreover, thanks to the presence of FACP, the composites have superior bioactivity than the MBGNs alone. Dental enamel remineralization and efficacy of dentinal tubules occlusion by the investigated composites were preliminarily tested in vitro on human dental hard tissues using scanning electron microscopy. Data revealed that the composites induced a satisfactory remineralization of enamel and dentin thanks to the FACP component, and a positive tubule occlusion thanks to the MBGNs component. Finally, our results demonstrate that FACP/MBGN composites are highly promising materials for preventive dentistry.