Gingivitis Prevention: Integration of Iron (II, III) Oxide Nanoparticles into Commercial Mouthwash

Gingivitis Prevention: Integration of Iron
(II, III) Oxide Nanoparticles into Commercial Mouthwash

J. Nguyen, M. Osinski

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120

2010
Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 64.7
million of American adults are victims of periodontitis, a dangerous and
irreversible periodontal disease. The early form of periodontitis is gingivitis,
a reversible, yet widespread disease that is commonly overlooked. Therefore,
experimentation is taking place to incorporate nanoparticles into dental care. Metal
oxide nanoparticles have outstanding antimicrobial abilities, but may cause
cytotoxicity within the human body. The high number of periodontitis patients and
the biomedical limitations of nanoparticles have led to the need for non-toxic
antimicrobial substances that are safe to be used in dental care products. A
solution to this need may be found in the incorporation of iron (II, III) oxide
nanoparticle in commercial mouthwash.

Iron
(II, III) oxide (Fe₃O­₄)nanoparticles are of
great interest due to their size and their effectiveness towards eliminating bacterial
biofilm. Using iron acetylacetonate (Fe(acac)₃)as our
precursor, the Fe(acac)₃ was dissolved in triethylene glycol (TREG),
which does not stimulate the immune system and made the nanoparticles
water-soluble. After the nanoparticle synthesis, the behavior of these particle
was then analyzed in water and Listerine Coolmint mouthwash.

The
results showed that the nanoparticle synthesis was very efficient as it produced
a 93% yield. Three characterization methods using dynamic light scattering,
zeta potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized. The
analysis from the characterization methods confirmed that the average radius of
one nanoparticle spanned approximately 5 nm, which is small enough to penetrate
bacterial biofilm, and that all the particles displayed uniform size and shape
distribution. The nanoparticles also displayed high colloidal stability in
water. The same colloidal stability is predicted to be present within the
nanoparticles dispersed in Listerine Coolmint mouthwash.

Further
progress in our methods will require us to receive approval from the
Institutional Review Board to obtain gingival swabs from gingivitis patients.
The mixed culture bacteria from these swabs will further be propagated using
agar on disks of hydroxyapatite (a prominent mineral found in human teeth). A
series of matrix studies will be conducted with two control groups and an
experimental group. All groups will be subject to the same environment on an
orbital shaker in an incubator at human body temperature. The first control
group will contain gingival bacteria subject to no treatment, the second
control group will involve exposing gingival bacteria to plain Listerine
Coolmint mouthwash, and the experimental group will include various
concentrations of nanoparticles in mouthwash applied to gingival bacteria. Each
group will be examined after increments of 10, 30, and 60 seconds. The
viability of the gingival biofilm will be examined using the LIVE/DEAD BacLight
Bacterial Viability Kit and cell culture size counting.

The
characterization data from the Fe₃O­₄ nanoparticles suggest
that the nanoparticles may be highly effective as a biomedically innocuous
antimicrobial that, when combined with Listerine Coolmint Mouthwash, can
increase the potency of the mouthwash. This creates a promising dental care
treatment that can be easily incorporated into routine dental hygiene practices
to effectively prevent the onset of gingivitis and periodontitis.