ISSN : 2663-2187

EVALUATION OF THE REMINERALIZING ABILITY OF AMINO ACIDS USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY ANALYSIS

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Sruthi Sairaman, Sandhya Raghu, Rajalakshmanan Eswaramoorthy
» doi: 10.33472/AFJBS.6.11.2024.1578-1586

Abstract

Background: Multiple peptides have been suggested for use in enamel remineralisation. Despite showing very good results in vitro, they have not been able to translate well into clinical practice due to their high cost, the risk of disintegration of the peptide by hydrolysis in the oral environment, and their unavailability as a commercial product. The aim of this study was to assess the remineralisation potential of the individual amino acids on demineralised enamel. Materials and Methods: 15 maxillary incisors were sectioned to produce 15 enamel slices of 5 mm x 5 mm each. They were then immersed in 0.1M acetic acid at pH 4 for five days in order to mimic demineralised carious lesions. Five demineralised specimens each of enamel respectively were then chosen as baseline samples for Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) and Energy dispersive X ray analysis (EDX). The remaining 10 samples each of enamel were again randomly divided into 2 groups - Group 1 - Glutamic acid + remineralizing solution and Group 2 l-aspartic acid and l-serine + remineralizing solution. The samples were immersed for 48 hours. The samples were then retrieved and subjected for SEM and EDX analysis post treatment. Results: In the baseline SEM images clearly showed demineralised enamel with loss in the prismatic structure of enamel. In the SEM images taken after immersion in glutamic acid, granular deposition of the calcium phosphate in each of the enamel prisms. In the SEM images of the aspartic acid-serine group, deposition of calcium and phosphate was observed but less than that of the glutamic acid group. The EDX results showed a 4% increase in calcium content from baseline in the glutamic acid group. The Aspartic acid-serine group had a 3% increase in calcium levels. Conclusion: From the results of this study, glutamic acid showed a better remineralisation potential in comparison to aspartic acid and serine after subjection to demineralisation.

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