Polypeptide‐catalyzed silica for dental applications

Abstract

Polypeptides such as polylysine have been shown to catalyze the condensation and direct the structure of silica from precursor solutions under ambient conditions. Several of the reaction parameters have been shown to mediate this activity. Specifically, mechanical perturbation seems to play a role in the formation of hierarchical structures. Most studies have been conducted in solution, but biomedical and particularly dental applications will likely require control of biosilicified coatings, films or particle formation on surfaces. Tetraethylorthosilicate was reacted with polylysine and then spin coated onto a surface. The process parameters catalyst structure, pH, buffer: ethanol ratio and percentage of cocatalyst polyethyleneimine were varied to determine their effects on the formed silica. The chemical nature and morphology of the silica were investigated with FTIR and SEM, respectively and reaction rates were monitored with a colorimetric assay. Our results show that these process parameters had only minor effects on composition, but the catalyst conformation influenced the degree of hydration while the pH, choice of solvent and cocatalyst strongly influenced morphology. We also found that perturbation from spin coating significantly influences the silicification dynamics. The ability to catalyze nano- to micron-sized mineral with different morphologies using polypeptides could have numerous dental applications including, sealing of dentin tubules, in situ reinforcement of resin interfaces or preparation of implant surfaces.

Silicification of Peptide-Coated Silver Nanoparticles—A Biomimetic Soft Chemistry Approach toward Chiral Hybrid Core−Shell Materials

“…A similar process is also possible with synthetic polymers, leading to well-defined silica nanostars or other shapes on patterned surfaces. − It should therefore be possible to exploit the catalytic activity of peptides and synthetic polymers to construct more complex nanoscale hybrid architectures. While there have been a few examples exploiting polymers and biopolymers for the synthesis of silica hybrid structures, ,,,,− there have been no studies on the effect of particles coated with small tailor-made peptides as templates and catalysts for silicification.…”

Bio-inspired Silica Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

“…Such surfaces may be of interest for tissue engineering or coatings of medical implants to promote new bone formation, as suggested in Figure 5. 151,153 While silicatein-catalyzed silica formation has been used to demonstrate the utility of biocatalytic silica synthesis for implant coatings, the diversity of bio-inspired and biomimetic strategies available for silica synthesis can be expected to lead to additional and more readily controlled routes for producing silica-based bioactive implant coatings. 151,153 While silicatein-catalyzed silica formation has been used to demonstrate the utility of biocatalytic silica synthesis for implant coatings, the diversity of bio-inspired and biomimetic strategies available for silica synthesis can be expected to lead to additional and more readily controlled routes for producing silica-based bioactive implant coatings.…”

Biomimetic synthesis of chiral erbium-doped silver/peptide/silica core-shell nanoparticles (ESPN)

“…Instead, ill-defined and aggregated structures form and only few protocols enable a controlled silica deposition. 20,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] We have recently developed a peptide-based, biomimetic process for coating silver nanoparticles with a uniform silica layer of 1 to 4 nm. 35 Among others, this coating is interesting because it can act as a host for ions and molecules leading to an even more pronounced (multi)functionality of the hybrid nanoparticles.…”