EC Dental Science

Keywords: Antimicrobials; Antibacterial; Biofilm; Biomaterials; Copper; Nanodentistry; Cranio-Maxillofacial; Regenerative Medicine; Drug Delivery; Nanoparticles; Oral Healthcare

Dentistry is an ever-evolving field that has seen significant advances in recent years. Particularly, research interest in nanomaterials has amplified exponentially mainly due to the unique, diverse, and versatile physico-chemico-mechanical and biological features they offer to our clinical as well as surgical armamentarium. Herein, copper-based/-incorporated nanoparticles and controlled pharmaceutic delivery and release systems are a fine example. Indeed, for the improvement of the properties of dental materials, the inclusion of metal oxide nanoparticles such as copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles have been demonstrated to improve the physio-mechanical properties whilst safely enhancing the biocidal anti-microbial bio-efficacy. Briefly, copper nanoparticles are tiny particles of copper with dimensions ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). They are commonly synthesized through various physical and chemical methods such as chemical reduction, electro-chemistry, hydro-thermal, thermal oxidation, sol-gel, microwave-assisted and/or green synthesis (using plant extracts) techniques, amongst other techniques.

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