Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS
Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS

From oral flora to model: Biofilms as the key to evaluating dental care products

© Fraunhofer IMWS
The "BioFilm Dental" project aims to develop a realistic test system for evaluating den-tal care products, with a focus on microbial diversity, calcification, and structural resili-ence. The image shows a multi-species biofilm in a microscopic image with a. Actino-myces naeslundii, b. Candida albicans, c. Streptococcus mutans.
The state of Saxony-Anhalt is providing funding for this project from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in accordance with the funding guidelines for research and innovation.

Oral health plays a crucial role in overall well-being and systemic health. Diseases such as caries, periodontitis, or inflammatory processes in the mouth can cause local discomfort and functional limitations. As part of the "BioFilm Dental" project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale) is dedicated to developing innovative biofilm models that can be used to investigate the effects of existing products and to enable new therapeutic approaches.

The aim of the project is to realistically replicate the complex microbial interactions within the oral flora in an in vitro model. This should provide a reliable basis for the practical evaluation of dental care products. A key challenge here is the successful co-cultivation of various pathogenic microorganisms under variable and demanding environmental conditions that mimic the natural fluctuations in the oral cavity. For the first time, systematic research is being conducted in this context to investigate how mineralization processes – in particular calcification – influence the mechanical and chemical stability of oral biofilms. These findings contribute significantly to the understanding of biofilm physiology and open up new perspectives for the targeted development and optimization of dental care products and therapeutic interventions.

In the course of the project, relevant pathogenic bacterial strains will first be cultivated in monospecies biofilms and comprehensively characterized. Based on this, systematic co-cultivation experiments will be carried out under controlled atmospheric conditions with the aim of establishing a reproducible and resilient multispecies biofilm model. Particular attention will be paid to a cyclic mineralization model, which the researchers will use to investigate the influence of calcification processes on the structural and functional resilience of biofilms.

The microbial diversity and the morphological and structural properties of the biofilms produced are continuously analyzed and documented. In subsequent test series, selected oral and dental care products are used to evaluate the practical applicability and significance of the models developed. "This systematic and interdisciplinary approach will result in an innovative, reproducible, and practical biofilm model that opens up attractive new opportunities for industry, dentistry, and oral prevention," explains Dr. Andreas Kiesow, project manager at Fraunhofer IMWS.