Nanobots to prevent recurrence of infections after root canal

BENGALURU: A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has designed a nanobot that helps prevent recurrence of infections after a root canal. The researchers, who also belong to IISc-incubated startup Theranautilus, were able to devise a way to remove all infection-causing bacteria left behind after a root canal procedure. 

The procedure needs to be undertaken when the flesh or ‘pulp’ inside a tooth becomes infected due to bacteria. The procedure involves removing the infected pulp or tissue and cleaning out residual bacteria. 
The bacteria often hides within microscopic canals in the tooth.

“The dentinal tubules are very small and bacteria reside deep in the tissue. Current techniques are not efficient enough to go all the way inside and kill the bacteria,” said Shanmukh Srinivas, one of the founders of the startup and a research associate at IISc. 

To combat this, the researchers developed nanobots that can be remotely controlled to penetrate the canals and kill the bacteria through heat. The startup has been involved in the development of nanobots for over three years, having done research on their movement through blood and living cells.

“These studies have shown that they are safe to use in biological tissues,” said Debayan Dasgupta, a co-founder of the startup. In terms of how close they are to implementing them in a clinical setting, the researchers have done an animal testing and are currently developing a device to help inject and control the bots during a root canal procedure.