Magnetically guided nanobots ‘offer lasting relief for tooth sensitivity’
A step towards the 'tiny mechanical surgeons' envisioned by Richard Feynman.
Magnetic nanobots that can penetrate deep into dentinal tubules and form durable seals over worn enamel have been developed by scientists.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with nano-technology startup Theranautilus have engineered ‘CalBots’ which offer long-term relief from sensitivity in a single treatment.
The CalBots use a new class of bioceramic cement. While bioceramics are widely used in orthopaedics and dentistry for their mineralising properties, the team wanted a solution tailored for hypersensitivity – a formulation that could travel deeper and last longer.
“We didn’t want to create a slightly better version of what’s already out there,” said Shanmukh Peddi, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc, and co-founder of Theranautilus. “We wanted a technology that solves a real problem in a way that no one’s attempted before.”
Dental hypersensitivity affects nearly one-in-four people worldwide. It occurs when microscopic tubules in the dentin, which lead directly to nerve endings, become exposed due to erosion or gum recession. Most current solutions, such as desensitising toothpastes, offer only surface-level relief and need to be reapplied regularly.
CalBots, however, are 400 nanometre-sized magnetic particles, loaded with a proprietary calcium silicate-based bioceramic formula, and are guided by an external magnetic field deep into the exposed tubules. They can reach depths of up to 300-500 micrometers inside the tubules. Once there, the bots self-assemble into stable, cement-like plugs that block the tubules and recreate a durable seal that mimics the natural environment of the tooth.
While the immediate goal is to relieve sensitivity, the implications of this work extend much further. “We’ve created a regenerative, active nanomaterial – a step towards the kind of ‘tiny mechanical surgeons’ Richard Feynman once envisioned,” said Debayan Dasgupta, former Ph.D. student at CeNSE, co-founder of Theranautilus and one of the corresponding authors.
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