Effects of peptide concentration on remineralization of eroded enamel

Promoting remineralization to repair eroded enamel is a promising therapy in clinics. In this study, biocompatible asparagine–serine–serine (NSS) peptide chelates free ions from artificial saliva through charged functional groups, and subsequently form nano-hydroxyapatite crystals to partially repair erosive lesions. The nanomechanical properties, cross-sectional microstructure, types of deposited minerals, and subsurface microstructure of enamel at various treatment stages were characterized by nanoindentation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The results revealed that the nanohardness and elastic modulus of eroded enamel increase with peptide concentration, particularly for the 3NSS peptide system. In contrast, the structure of the 5NSS peptide is larger and longer, leading to increasing difficulty in penetrating to the deep acid-eroded regions; therefore, the remineralization effect was restricted to the top enamel surface. The 3NSS peptide with high concentration promoted the formation of smaller, finer, and staggered nanohydroxyapatite crystals. The enamel remineralized with a 100 μM 3NSS exhibited the highest degree of nanohardness recovery (34%), resulting from subsurface crystalline regrowth.