Design of a scaffold for periodontal disease treatment

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19767
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Oral Science and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Masaru 九州大学, 先導物質化学研究所, 教授 (00322850)
• Research Collaborator: KOBAYASHI Shingo ; MURAKAMI Daiki ; ARATSU Fumihiro
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 足場材料 / バイオ界面 / 歯周病

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to develop a scaffold for periodontal ligament (PDL) cells culture, biocompatibility is one of the essential factors. When a material comes in contact with fluids, various biological responses are evoked on the polymer surface. Among the responses, an immune reaction is the significant problem. Because PDL cells adherence onto polymer surfaces, the main step toward the immune reaction, is mediated by the denatured adsorbed protein, inhibiting the adsorption and denaturation of the proteins is one of the simplest methods. We have reported that poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) shows excellent biocompatibility. The chemical structure of PMEA is composed of an acrylate backbone and monomethoxy terminated ethylene glycol sidechain. If the placement of the ester unit in the PMEA framework is inverted, the polymer becomes a poly(vinyl acetate) derivative, poly(3-methoxypropionic acid vinyl ester). We synthesized this polymer, and found great potential as a PDL cell scaffold.

Free Research Field

バイオマテリアル工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

歯周病は世界で最も蔓延している病気であり、我が国の成人の7割が罹患している。歯周病は全身疾患にも関与しており、歯周病治療は高齢社会における大きなニーズとなっている。歯周病細菌が歯周組織に感染し歯周組織の破壊が進行するので、本来の歯周組織の構造と機能を修復するための歯周組織再生技術が必要である。本研究では、申請者が世界で初めて発見した足場材料の水和構造制御による細胞の選択的接着現象に着目し、ヒト歯根膜（PDL）細胞の接着、増殖、機能を制御できる生体親和性足場材料による新しい歯周病治療戦略を考案する。また、全身疾患に関与する歯周病治療に対して新たな学術的視点を与える。