title: A novel direct contact method for the assessment of the antimicrobial activity of dental cements.
abstract: Dental cements are a crucial part of the odontological treatment, however, due to the hazardous nature and reduced biological efficiency of some of the used materials, newer and safer alternatives are needed, particularly so those possessing higher antimicrobial activity than their traditional counterparts. The evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of solid and semi-solid antimicrobials, such as dental cements and gels, is challenging, particularly due to the low sensitivity of the current methods. Thus, the main aim of this study was the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of a novel chitosan containing dental cement while simultaneous assessing/validating a new, more efficient, method for the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of solid and gel like materials. The results obtained showed that the proposed method exhibited a higher sensitivity than the standard 96 well microtiter assay and allowed the determination of bactericidal activity. Additionally, it is interesting to note that the chitosan containing cement, which presented higher antimicrobial activity than the traditional zinc oxide/eugenol mix, was capable of inducing a viable count reduction above 5 log of CFU for all of the studied microorganisms.
authors.affiliation: CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Dr António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Madureira
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardelle-Cobas
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Tavaria
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pintado
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003738:Dental Cements / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D003738:Dental Cements