Abstract
The integration of nanomaterials with clinical therapeutic instruments is a promising approach to improve the effects of nanomaterials. We reported an efficient synergistic antibacterial strategy formed through the combination of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites with a light-emitting diode (LED) curing light, which is a commonly used small instrument in dental clinics. The as-designed integration depicted a significantly enhanced bactericidal effect on facultative anaerobic oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) both in planktonic and biofilm phases over a very short irradiation time (≤5 min). Further study showed that the combination of LED and Ag/ZnO nanocomposites induced more ·OH and ·O2- generation, which is responsible for the enhanced antibacterial activity. Moreover, this combination could destroy S. mutans biofilm by killing the bacteria embedded within biofilm, inhibiting exopolysaccharide production and down-regulating the biofilm-related gene expression. Therefore, it is proposed that this combination could be applied in dental clinics to realize dental caries prevention and dental restoration simultaneously.
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