Tip Modification for Interaction Studies Between Polysaccharides and Dental Materials

Neutral polysaccharides, such as bacterial dextrans, are one of the main components of the oral conditioning film, which is the first step in the formation of microbial biofilms on dental materials in the oral cavity. Although they play an essential role alongside proteins, their adhesion mechanisms are still very unknown. Therefore, they are currently being studied using various analytical methods. In particular, by means of scanning force spectroscopy (SFS), the adhesion forces are to be measured as a function of multiple parameters such as pH value or surface material. Cantilever tips must therefore be modified with the polysaccharide of interest. A stable coupling of dextran, which serves as a model polysaccharide here, can be achieved by a photochemical modification method, which is verified by fluorescence microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning force microscopy, and SFS.