Leveraging the Concentration-Gradient Diffusion within a Catalyst-Containing Hydrogel Bilayer Enables Safe and Effective Tooth Whitening and Caries Prevention.

Journal: ACS applied materials & interfaces
Published Date: Dec 19, 2025

Abstract

Tooth whitening has attracted considerable attention as it can enhance appearance and improve oral health. Nanocatalysts with peroxidase-like activity can catalyze H2O2 to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), a process known as chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The ROS generation can achieve effective tooth whitening and caries prevention. Nonetheless, traditional CDT methods often struggle with controlling the reaction process by adjusting the concentrations of H2O2 or nanocatalysts. An excessive ROS can harm oral tissues, whereas insufficient ROS may compromise therapeutic efficacy. To address this issue, this study designed a hydrogel bilayer that separately encapsulates H2O2 and iron-based metal-organic frameworks (Fe-MOFs) nanoparticles (NPs) with peroxidase-like activity. The ROS generation was regulated by leveraging the concentration-gradient diffusion of H2O2. Through Monte Carlo simulations and machine learning algorithms, mathematical formulas were derived to elucidate how to harness concentration-gradient diffusion for near-independent modulation of the reaction half-life and rate. The experimental results demonstrated that being guided by the formulas could effectively avoid the initial burst of ROS and manipulate the ROS generation duration, thereby achieving safe and effective tooth whitening and caries prevention. We anticipate that this bilayer design strategy can be extended to other CDT systems, enabling precise control over therapeutic outcomes.

Authors

  • Ge Pan
    School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, P. R. China.
  • Wei Deng
    Department of Neurobiology, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. [email protected].
  • Ming Hu
    Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
  • Bo Peng
    Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
  • Miaomiao Zhang
    Department of Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
  • Zongjia Li
    State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China.
  • Qian Duan
    Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China. [email protected].
  • Jilin Tang
    State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China.
  • Dapeng Wang
    First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116620, China.

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