Antibacterial, drug delivery, and osteoinduction abilities of bioglass/chitosan scaffolds for dental applications

Treating dental infections requires removing the damaged tissue and inserting a filling material. Scaffolds are very successful in numerous biomedical applications, especially dental/bone substitution. Here, hematite-doped bioglass/chitosan scaffolds are investigated as an alternative implant system for delivering 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) to repair infected root canals as well as for evaluating their osteoinduction ability. The antibacterial activity of the fabricated scaffolds was assessed using the agar diffusion method. Furthermore, ex vivo antibacterial tests were performed in infected teeth using Enterococcus faecalis. CHX's in vitro release was determined in PBS after 1, 7, and 14 days. Their osteoinductive ability was determined using white male Wistar-Furth rats. The antibacterial results show an obvious behavioral difference between the pure CHX and the CHX-loaded scaffolds against E. faecalis. Moreover, the CHX release behavior from the CHX-loaded scaffolds depended on its concentration within the scaffolds. The presence of hematite (Fe2O3) enhanced drug release and completely eliminated bacterial growth after 14 days, as revealed by the in vitro drug release and antibacterial tests. Scaffold implantation resulted in remarkable osteoinduction for both scaffolds. This study illustrates that the prepared scaffolds show antibacterial, drug delivery, and osteoinduction abilities that could potentially be used in endodontic therapy.