The Potential Role of Ionic Liquid as a Multifunctional Dental Biomaterial

Abstract

In craniofacial research and routine dental clinical procedures, multifunctional materials with antimicrobial properties are in constant demand. Ionic liquids (ILs) are one such multifunctional intelligent material. Over the last three decades, ILs have been explored for different biomedical applications due to their unique physical and chemical properties, high task specificity, and sustainability. Their stable physical and chemical characteristics and extremely low vapor pressure make them suitable for various applications. Their unique properties, such as density, viscosity, and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, may provide higher performance as a potential dental material. ILs have functionalities for optimizing dental implants, infiltrate materials, oral hygiene maintenance products, and restorative materials. They also serve as sensors for dental chairside usage to detect oral cancer, periodontal lesions, breath-based sobriety, and dental hard tissue defects. With further optimization, ILs might also make vital contributions to craniofacial regeneration, oral hygiene maintenance, oral disease prevention, and antimicrobial materials. This review explores the different advantages and properties of ILs as possible dental material.

Keywords: biomaterials; dental materials; ionic liquids (ILs); tissue regeneration and multifunctional.

Figure 1

Chemical structures of some typical Ionic Liquid cations and anions [11].

Figure 2

Different components of a model lipid bilayer (Phospholipid) [25].

Figure 3

Illustration of how ionic liquids interact with the bacterial cell membrane (both Gram-positive and Gram-negative) and ultimately cause cell lysis. Reproduced with permission [34].

Figure 4

Components of a dental implant. Created with BioRender.com.

Figure 5

Ionic liquid-coated titanium implant. (A) SEM images of titanium surfaces coated and uncoated with ionic liquids at different doses (Scale bar 100 µm). (B) Hematoxylin and eosin staining of titanium implants (coated and uncoated). Images show the healing representation (pointed with arrows) of post-implantation at 2 and 14 days (Scale bar 20 µm). (C) Areas marked with arrows showing inflammatory responses of surrounding tissues at 14 days (post-implantation) in coated and uncoated titanium implants (Scale bar 20 µm). Reproduced with permission [71].

Figure 6

Microcapsules loaded with ionic liquids as dental resin infiltrates. Reproduced with permission [78].