Enhanced antibacterial effect against Enterococcus faecalis by silver ions plus Triton X-100 with low concentrations and cytotoxicity

• DOI: 10.1007/s42770-021-00643-8
• Publication Date: 2021-11-03T08:06:23Z
• Authors: Mengting Duan; Qing Sun; Wei Fan; Bing Fan
• Keywords: Ions; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Silver; Octoxynol; Chlorhexidine; Enterococcus faecalis; Anti-Bacterial Agents

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is commonly considered to be one of chief culprits of secondary and persistent root canal infections. As antibiotic resistance has become a global issue, in order to reduce the use of antibiotics, metal ions have recently been widely used as an alternative. Silver ions (Ag+) have been proved to be a strong bactericide but with high cytotoxicity and discoloration property. Triton X-100 (TX-100) and Ag+ were co-used for the first time as a clinical intracanal medication to obtain both enhanced antibacterial effect and low cytotoxicity. The synergistic antibacterial effect of TX-100 + Ag+ was tested on both planktonic and biofilm-resident E. faecalis on dentine. And the cytotoxicity was tested on MC3T3-E1 cells. Results confirmed the antibacterial activity against both planktonic and biofilm-resident E. faecalis was dramatically improved after TX-100 incorporation. TX-100 and Ag+ mixture demonstrated a similar inhibitory effect as the 2% chlorhexidine (CHX), while the cytotoxicity was much lower than 2% CHX (p < 0.05). In conclusion, TX-100 + Ag+ mixture might be developed into a new effective intracanal medication as the 2% CHX.