An injectable antibacterial hydrogel to promote human dental pulp regeneration – ENDONANOBIOTIC

Current therapeutics of necrotic dental pulp consists of removing the tissue from the endodontic space and disinfecting and filling the emptied space, but the latter is very prone to bacterial re-colonization. DP regeneration strategies recently appeared to be promising, but they are hampered by residual bacteria from the endodontic biofilm which promote immune/inflammatory events at the expense of regenerative ones. The ENDONANOBIOTIC project aims at designing an innovative, antibacterial, cellularizable fibrin-based hydrogel containing poly (D,L) lactic acid-nanoparticles (NP) able to release clindamycin, the antibiotic of choice for the treatment of tooth infections in penicillin-allergic patients. We will assess the antimicrobial properties of this nanocomposite hydrogel on an endodontic biofilm in vitro, its influence on DP-mesenchymal stem cell behaviour in culture, its antibacterial and regenerative potential in infected mouse teeth in vivo, and murine immune responses.
This project is planned over a period of 36 months and will require the recruitment of a PhD student. The strength of this project comes from the team's collaboration with specialists in biofilms and animal models of the oral cavity.
The objective of this project will be to gradually validate the preclinical and clinical stages, to ultimately provide a device for dentists capable of replacing the current strategy of sealing the dentinal walls with a device based on gutta-percha.