Supramolecular mineralizing materials for dental tissue regeneration

Material platforms based on supramolecular control of organic-inorganic interactions offer enormous potential to develop materials that can recreate the structural and functional properties of tissues such as bone and enamel. There is currently an unmet need to develop mineralizing materials that can recreate the properties of dental enamel. Loss of enamel can have profound impact on quality of life and result in invasive and costly interventions to prevent immense oral pain due to hypersensitivity, enamel erosion, or tooth decay. The project will be led by Prof. Alvaro Mata and Dr. Christabel Fowler and aims to develop a mineralizing material for the regenerating of dental tissues. The project will explore the use of protein-based matrixes to control organic-inorganic interactions, guide mineralization, and ultimately design and fabricate dental implants. The work will integrate supramolecular chemistry where there is a need to optimize protein matrixes, biomineralization where we aim to control apatite growth in clinical scenarios, and material processing where we look to enable fabrication of dental implants.