Anti-erosive effect of a self-assembling peptide gel

This study analyzed the anti-erosive effect of a self-assembling peptide fibre gel. One hundred and twelve bovine enamel samples were ground flat and subjected to a three times de- and re-mineralization cycle: erosion (5min, HCl, pH2.6) alternated with storage in artificial saliva under agitation. Then, samples were covered with dif-ferent anti-erosive compounds (2min): Duraphat toothpaste (DT), Elmex Erosion Protection Tooth-paste (EET) or Elmex Gelée (EG)– all mixed with saliva (1:3)–, Elmex Erosion Protection Mouth-wash (EEM), Curodont Protect (CP; self-assem-bling peptide gel) or MI Paste Plus (MIP). Untreat-ed, water stored samples served as control. In experiment1, half of the samples of each group were continuously superfused with HCl (pH2.6, 60μl/min, 8min). In experiment2, the second half of samples were subjected to eight cycles, each consisting of application of the respective anti-erosive compound followed by an erosion (60s, HCl, pH2.6), followed by remineralization in artificial saliva (45min). Enamel loss was profi-lometrically determined.In experiment1, EEM and EET performed signifi-cantly better compared to all other compounds. Substance loss of all other compounds did not differ significantly from control. In experiment2, significantly better performance was achieved by EEM and EET. EG showed significantly lower pro-tection than the control. All other applied com-pounds yielded no significant difference com-pared to control.Under the chosen conditions, the self-assembling peptide-containing compound showed no anti-erosive effect.