Sandwich-structured electrospun pH-responsive dental pastes for anti-caries

Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease in the human oral cavity and current anti-caries drugs may cause drug resistance and microecological imbalance. In this study, a sandwich-structured electrospun pH-responsive dental paste was engineered via the layer-by-layer electrospinning technique. The top and bottom layers of the dental paste were pH-sensitive layers prepared with Methylmethacrylate polymers IV (E100), and the middle layer was the polylactic acid (PLA) membrane loading with sodium fluorides (NaF). Herein, the surface morphology, chemical as well as physical properties, drug release behaviors, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties of the dental paste were investigated. It was found that the sandwich liked structure enhanced the mechanical properties of the dental paste. The drug release curves of NaF-loaded dental pastes showed that NaF released rapidly and massively in the simulated oral fluid with a risk of dental caries. While in the simulated healthy oral fluid, NaF released slowly and in small amounts. And the dental paste maintained excellent hydrophobic, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties against Streptococcus mutans. Therefore, this sandwich-structured dental paste could respond to pH environment and achieve anti-caries smartly, indicating clinical potential in caries prevention.