# Bacterial Adhesion Inhibition and Biofilm Disruption by Adaptive Piezoelectric Biomaterial

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $232,549

## Abstract

Dental resin composites have been widely used clinically due to their bonding potential to the tooth tissues, good
mechanical properties, and lower cost compared to other indirect restorations. While successful, long-term
survival of a restoration can be compromised by secondary caries at the tooth-composite margins. In most cases,
failure is due to the microleakage of bacteria and their acid by-products through the margins between composite
and tooth structures. Once biofilms are established on a surface, it is extremely difficult to remove or kill
pathogenic bacteria therein. Therefore, inhibition of microbial adhesion or inactivation of the adhered bacteria
could impair their development into biofilms. The goal of this application is to create a novel dental composite
that inhibits biofilm accumulation as well as dislodging surface-adhered microbes on restorative materials using
enhanced electric potential at the interface generated by oral motion without relying on microbial killing activity.
A nanocomposite platform based on barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles enables antibiofilm and self-powering
functionalities for biomedical applications. This nanocomposite surface inhibits bacterial colonization by utilizing
its intrinsic physicochemical properties without bactericidal activity, thereby minimizing the induction of
antimicrobial resistance and destruction of homeostasis microbiota. In addition, the piezoelectric property of
BaTiO3 nanoparticles that converts normal oral motions into electrical energy can be utilized to enhance its
antibiofilm activity. Ongoing studies indicate that antibiofilm activity can be further enhanced by modulating the
work function by introducing a shallow metallic surface (< 100 Å) on the nanocomposite, exhibiting almost
complete inhibition of bacterial colonization. Based on this exciting supporting data, we hypothesize that force-
powering of piezoelectric crystals to produce enhanced electric potential combined with bacterial anti-adhesive
property creates an anti-infectious environment that prevents the development of biofilms on restorations and
secondary caries. We anticipate that the creation of this anti-infectious smart biomaterial would increase the
functionality of restorations and provide a new strategy to prevent secondary caries as well as reduce the risk of
restoration failure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10792916
- **Project number:** 5R21DE032162-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Geelsu Hwang
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $232,549
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10792916

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10792916, Bacterial Adhesion Inhibition and Biofilm Disruption by Adaptive Piezoelectric Biomaterial (5R21DE032162-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10792916. Licensed CC0.

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