Chemical Microrobots as Self-Propelled Microbrushes against Dental Biofilm

Abstract

Mouths offer the perfect environments for microbial cell formation, promoting the growth of biofilms, for example, on teeth. Dental biofilm exhibits strong resistance to antibiotics and is a cause of many dental diseases. Common strategies for dental biofilm removal involve the addition of high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which increases tooth sensitivity, or mechanical procedures. Here, we report a different approach based on self-propelled micromachines with high antibacterial activity for the degradation of dental biofilm. Such microrobots use low concentrations of fuel for their propulsion, and they achieve an efficient dental biofilm disruption in only 5 min of treatment. Moreover, these microrobots are biocompatible with epidermal and organ cells and may stimulate the immune system to fight against microbial infection. This approach of exploiting the active motion of bubble-propelled catalytic micromachines for oral biofilm disruption may open the door for more efficient and sophisticated treatments in dentistry.