SBIR Phase I: A Platform for Penetrative Drug Delivery to Teeth

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel medical device and dental approach for enabling rapid and more effective dental treatments by improving the permeability of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics into teeth. The system aims to augment the delivery of specific compounds for treating tooth decay resulting in over 175 million cavities drilled and filled and $45 billion costs per year in the US, with nearly 15 million requiring root canal therapy resulting in $15 billion costs to remove the underlying infection which topical or systemic antibiotics are unable to effectively treat. In the short term, the system aims to provide an augmentative method for the cosmetic dentistry market by improving teeth whitening treatments currently performed by nearly 80% of Americans, a $7 billion market when combining both the professional and over-the-counter whitening treatment markets. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to validate a novel device and approach for controlling electrically-mediated electrokinetic flow for enhancing the delivery of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics into whole human teeth. The novel system is based on experimental results demonstrating electrical voltage, current, time of application, pressure, with an additive for maintaining conductivity improves permeability of specific chemical formulations. These parameters will be validated on the speed and depth of delivery and their effects characterized using several commonly topically applied dental agents including fluoride and hydrogen peroxide bleach. Isolated invitro testing will then be completed to expand the potential for several relevant molecules including antimicrobial and regenerative agents. A prototype device will then be fabricated for enabling first in-human testing at a latter stage. The successful completion of this project therefore aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a novel approach for enabling deeper and more rapid delivery of several clinically relevant molecules into human teeth in an invitro setting, and completion of a prototype device suitable for experimental use. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.