UIC-2017-077 – Cerium nanoparticle for oral bacterial biofilm inhibition

Tooth born biofilms comprising Streptoccoccus mutans and other bacterial pathogens are associated with the formation of dental caries. Dental caries in pediatric patients frequently leads to pulpal necrosis, abscesses, tooth loss and increased complexity of treatment. A treatment to arrest dental caries and inhibit further biofilm formation can be beneficial. Numerous silver containing reagents have been reported successful in arresting early childhood carries but have some limitations. The inventor developed a cerium nanoparticle that behaves as biofilm inhibitor that leads to reduced/eliminated incidence of dental caries. Cerium nanoparticles can be applied topically to the decayed dentition to prevent further progression of the infection without actively contributing to the bacterial resistance problem. Hyunjin Kim hkim227@otm.uic.edu 312355-7843