Is 'oil pulling' a 'snake oil'? : a clinical trial

The traditional Ayurveda practice of ‘oil pulling’ has become a recent phenomenon and concerns about its efficacy have been raised. Objectives: (1) to determine awareness about the practice of ‘oil pulling’ among a group of young adults, and to determine variations in awareness with respect to socio-demographic factors, oral health behaviours (oral hygiene and dental attendance) and use of natural health products; (2) to determine the effectiveness of ‘oil pulling’ and conventional oral hygiene practice compared to the use of conventional oral hygiene practice alone in terms of oral hygiene and (3) to determine the effectiveness of ‘oil pulling’ and conventional oral hygiene practice compared to the use of conventional oral hygiene practice alone in terms of gingival health. Methods: Group members recruited seventy-four young adults to participate in a clinical trial over a two-month period comparing the effectiveness of (a) ‘oil pulling’ and conventional oral hygiene methods (toothbrush and toothpaste) versus (b) conventional oral hygiene methods alone. Oral hygiene was assessed using the Plaque Index - PI (Silness and Löe, 1964) and the proportion of sites with visible plaque (PVP). Gingival health was assessed using the Gingival Index – GI (Silness and Löe,1963) and the proportion of sites with gingival bleeding (PGB). Participants were block randomized in groups of four to a cross over clinical trial and assessments were conducted at one-month and two-months. Results: Approximately a quarter (28.4%, 21) of participants was aware of the practice of ‘oil pulling’. Awareness of the practice was associated with reported use of natural dental/oral health products (p0.05). There were observed significant differences in gingival health among both the test and control groups from baseline to one-month (p0.05). No significant differences were observed in oral health parameters from one-month to two-month among neither the test nor control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Awareness of the practice of ‘oil pulling’ is relatively common and is associated with use of natural dental/oral health products. Findings from the clinical trial failed to support the adjunct use of ‘oil pulling’ in addition to conventional oral hygiene practices.published_or_final_versio

Synthesis, characterization, photophysics and electrochemical study of luminescent iridium(III) complexes with isocyanoborate ligands

A new series of cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes with isocyanoborate ligands [Ir(R2ppy)2(L)(CNBR\u273)] (R = H or F ; L = CNC6H4Cl-4 or PPh3 ; R\u27 = Ph, C6F5 or C6H4Cl-4), [Ir(biqb)(ppy)(CNBR\u27\u273)] (R\u27\u27 = C6F5 or C6H4Cl-4) and {Ir(ppy)2(CN)n[CNB(C6F5)3]2-n}(-) (n = 0 or 1) have been synthesized and characterized. Three of these complexes have also been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of these complexes have been investigated. The effects of isocyanoborate ligands on the luminescence properties of these iridium(III) complexes are also described

Neutral luminescent bis(bipyridyl) osmium(II) complexes with improved phosphorescent properties

A new class of neutral bis(isocyanoborato) bis(bipyridyl) Os(II) complexes with the general formula of [Os(N–N)2(CNBR3)2] (N–N = bpy, 4,4′-Me2bpy; R = C6F5, C6H5) were prepared with simple synthetic methodologies. One of these complexes was structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Unlike most of the neutral bis(bipyridyl) Os(II) complexes, which are very weakly emissive or nonemissive, these isocyanoborato complexes displayed intense orange to red phosphorescence with a luminescent quantum yield up to 0.09 in CH2Cl2 solution at room temperature. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of these complexes were also investigated. Detailed photophysical study showed that these complexes exhibited significantly enhanced emission properties over other reported neutral bis(bipyridyl) Os(II) complexes. In addition, it also revealed that the photophysics, electrochemistry, and excited state properties can be fine-tuned or modified through the functionalization of isocyanoborate ligands

Synthesis, characterisation and photophysical studies of leucotriarylmethanes-containing ligands and their rhenium(I) tricarbonyl diimine complexes

A series of pyridine- and bipyridine-containing leucotriarylmethane ligands has been successfully synthesised and incorporated into tricarbonyl rhenium(I) diimine complexes. The X-ray crystal structures of two of the complexes have also been determined. The photoreactivity, photophysical and electrochemical properties of these ligands and their rhenium complexes were investigated. The photo-ionisation of the leucotriarylmethanes in the free ligands and their metal complexes and the subsequent change in absorption properties were also studied. Additionally, the electrochemistry of these ligands and complexes were investigated