Dental researchers have used the Malvern Zetasizer Nano to characterise tooth enamel made in the laboratory.
Dr Vuk Uskokovic, from the Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is involved in a study that aims to mimic the growth of tooth enamel in the laboratory.
A key analytical tool in this NIH-funded project is the Zetasizer Nano particle characterisation system from Malvern Instruments.
Harnessing the combined dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta-potential measurement capabilities of the instrument, Uskokovic and his colleagues have been able to characterise the interaction between amelogenin protein, which makes up 90 per cent of the enamel matrix and the mineral component, hydroxyapatite.
Self-assembly of this particular protein is thought to be responsible for guiding the formation of enamel crystals.
While dental techniques are often highly sophisticated, those available for restoring damaged dental tissue are less than perfect.
Consequently there is a requirement for approaches that minimise tissue loss.
According to Uskokovic, if researchers can understand how enamel forms naturally, they can use the same compounds to rebuild the damaged enamel.
In a paper entitled 'Zeta-potential and particle size analysis of human amelogenins', Uskokovic and his colleagues deliver results that suggest 'zeta-potential may be used as a control parameter in replicating the assembly of amelogenins in vitro'.
The authors also note that 'the meaning of the correlations established between zeta-potential and particle-particle attraction could be applied to self-assembling proteins in general'.
Having completed the initial study covering the characterisation of amelogenin protein, including its proteolytic cleavage products, as published in the 'Journal of Dental Research', Uskokovic is currently awaiting publication of a more comprehensive paper focusing on the interaction between amelogenin and its mineral counterpart in enamel.
