Abstract：
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective method for bacterial infection control in root canals of teeth with a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. However, its application in root canal treatment is limited due to its inefficiency under hypoxic conditions and dentin staining. Triton X-100 (TX) shows great potential in enhancing the efficiency of antimicrobial agents through improving bacterial membrane permeability. The present study employed a combination of toluidine blue O (TB)-mediated PDT with TX to target the Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), a bacterium with strong resistance to various antibacterial agents and mostly detected in infected root canals. PDT combined with TX showed enhanced antibacterial efficiency against both planktonic cells and biofilms of E. faecalis. At the same time, TX enhanced the antibacterial effect in dentinal tubules and reduced the incubation time. Mechanism studies revealed that TX improved reactive oxygen species (ROS) production through increasing the proportion of TB monomers. Additionally, increased membrane permeability and wettability were also observed. The findings demonstrated the PDT combined with TX could be used as a highly effective method for the root canal disinfection of teeth.
摘要：
光动力疗法（PDT）是一种有效的控制牙根管细菌感染的方法，具有广谱的抗菌活性。然而,由于其在低氧条件和牙本质染色下的效率低下，其在根管治疗中的应用受到限制。TritonX-100（TX）在通过改善细菌膜渗透性来提高抗微生物剂的效率方面显示出巨大的潜力。本研究采用甲苯胺蓝O（TB）介导的PDT与TX的组合来靶向粪肠球菌（E.粪肠)，一种对各种抗菌剂具有很强抵抗力的细菌，主要在受感染的根管中检测到。PDT与TX组合显示对浮游细胞和粪肠球菌生物膜两者的增强的抗菌效率。同时,TX增强了牙本质小管中的抗菌作用并减少了孵育时间。机理研究表明，TX通过增加TB单体的比例来改善活性氧（ROS）的产生。此外,还观察到膜渗透性和润湿性增加。结果表明，PDT联合TX可作为一种高效的牙齿根管消毒方法。
