Millions of Americans undergo root-canal therapy to treat pulpal degenerative diseases. While the current standard-of-care elastomeric materials, such as gutta percha, are successful in replacing the dental pulp and limiting inflammation in the tissues, they are not intended for tissue regeneration. Self-assembling peptide hydrogels (SAPHs) are versatile platforms that can be modified with functional epitopes to enable diverse biological outcomes. We report a SAPH system modified with dentinogenic functionality enabling the support, proliferation, and targeted differentiation of dental pulp stem cells. These hydrogels are injectable and capable of re-assembling post-injection in situ as demonstrated by oscillatory rheometry and in vivo subcutaneous injection, respectively. We characterized the self-assembly of the hydrogel by electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy and elucidated the secondary structure of the peptide through spectroscopy. In vitro experiments provide evidence for the cytocompatibility of the injectable hydrogel. We demonstrate the efficacy of the hydrogel therapy in animal models and propose the development of the approach for a regenerative alternative to root-canal therapy.

Dentinogenic self-assembling peptide hydrogels for pulpal tissue regeneration

256th National Meeting (2018)

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