Ann Arbor, MI — December 1, 2011 — Instead of taking a pill to minimize infection and perhaps limit the destruction of periodontal tissues, is there another way patients might be able to receive relief for their condition?  Could there also be a way to create new periodontal tissue to replace tissue that has been destroyed?  Those are questions third-year dental student Alexandra Plonka often thinks about as she collaborates with faculty researchers at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.

Plonka is investigating how tetracycline’s anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties can be encapsulated into nanospheres and precisely delivered to areas in the mouth where host molecules degrade tissues due to infection and inflammation.  For her efforts, she received second prize in basic research during the recent annual Hinman Student Research Symposium.

Working with Dr. Peter Ma, professor of dentistry and professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Engineering, and Dr. William Giannobile, professor of dentistry and director of clinical research, Plonka said encapsulating tetracycline into nanospheres allows controlled release of the substance.  Plonka's study builds on work published by both Ma and Giannobile.

Ma’s research describes how biodegradable polymers self-assemble into hollow nanofiber spheres that can be injected with healthy cells and then introduced into wounds.  The spheres biodegrade while the cells lived on to form new tissue. (Nature Materials, April 17, 2011).  Ma and Giannobile have both published research showing how these scaffolds can release antibiotics for a variety of tissue repair applications (Journal of Controlled Release, September 15, 2010).

“My poster presentation showed that tetracyclines can also be delivered using nanospheres in highly porous scaffolds,” Plonka said.  “Longer term, there may be applications that include combining tetracyclines with growth factors that result in the regeneration of tissue and bone and the creation of new blood vessels.”

In addition to her Hinman prize, Plonka’s poster presentation, Nanofibrous Scaffolds Incorporating Microspheres for Periodontal Tissue Engineering, received Second Prize in the School of Dentistry’s 2011 Research Day.

The Hinman Student Research Symposium, held in Memphis, Tennessee, featured oral and poster presentations of research by dental students and graduate students from dental schools in the U.S. and Canada.  The Symposium is sponsored by the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and cosponsored by the Hinman Dental Society.