Bilkent University National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) Faculty Member Asst. Prof. Urartu Şeker and his team published an article entitled “A Living Materials Platform for Biomineralization of Biosilica” in Materials Today Bio. Materials Today Bio is among the leading scientific publications focusing on biology, materials science, chemistry, physics, engineering, and medicine and aims to convey exciting international advances and discoveries within these fields.
This study was conducted in order to develop a probiotic bacteria that can be applied to damaged parts of teeth. Accordingly, protein motifs were placed on the surface of bacteria and used by diatoms, i.e., large groups of algae, to produce their own silica cell walls were placed on the surface of bacteria. The recombinant bacteria obtained in this way were found to both secrete silica-forming proteins and form silica on their own surfaces with the help of a controllable mechanism. The findings suggest that these bacteria, which are obtained by designing silica structures with or without bacteria, are suitable for use as a filling material that can be easily produced and can provide faster healing by filling damaged parts of the tooth and triggering the differentiation of dental stem cells. Moreover, in the study, it was found that silica triggers stem cell differentiation and enables them to accumulate calcium.
The study, published in Materials Today Bio, was carried out in conjunction with Assoc. Prof. Emel Özyürek Uzunoğlu from Hacettepe University’s Department of Dentistry and Prof. Serap Dökmeci from the Department of Medical Biology.
You can access the study at the link below: https://t.co/Hv15DetHJ3
