Protein disorder-order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures

A major goal in materials science is to develop bioinspired functional materials based on the precise control of molecular building blocks across length scales. Here we report a protein-mediated mineralization process that takes advantage of disorder–order interplay using elastin-like recombinamers to program organic–inorganic interactions into hierarchically ordered mineralized structures. The materials comprise elongated apatite nanocrystals that are aligned and organized into microscopic prisms, which grow together into spherulite-like structures hundreds of micrometers in diameter that come together to fill macroscopic areas. The structures can be grown over large uneven surfaces and native tissues as acid-resistant membranes or coatings with tuneable hierarchy, stiffness, and hardness. Our study represents a potential strategy for complex materials design that may open opportunities for hard tissue repair and provide insights into the role of molecular disorder in human physiology and pathology

Effectiveness of resin-coated gutta-percha cones and a dual-cured, hydrophilic methacrylate resin-based sealer in obturating root canals.

The introduction of a polybutadiene-diisocyanate-methacylate resin-coating of gutta-percha enables the polyisoprene to be chemically coupled to methacrylate-based resin root canal sealers. This study examined the effectiveness of using passively fitting cones of this type of gutta-percha with a dual-cured version of EncloREZ sealer in obturating cleaned and shaped root canals. The hydrophilic nature of the sealer enabled the creation of an extensive network of 800 to 1200 mu m long sealer resin tags after removal of the encloclontic smear layer. Although no adhesive was employed, thin hybrid layers in root dentin were observed when EDTA was used as the final rinse, Nevertheless, interfacial gaps and silver leakage could be,observed along the sealer-dentin interfaces that might be attributed predominantly to polymerization shrinkage of the sealer. Gaps and silver leakage were also identified between the gutta-percha resin-coating and the sealer