|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Dr Anne Young
Lecturer in Biomaterials BackgroundAnne Young gained a first class honours degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Polymers in 1986 and 1990 respectively, both from Imperial College. After working 3 years for BP as a colloid / polymer scientist and 1 year at the London School of Pharmacy on drug delivery with liposomes she gained a lectureship in Chemistry at Brunel University. She first became involved in dental material research in 1998 when she joined the company Schottlander and Davis. Her appointment at the Eastman began in Nov. 2000. Present Research InterestsInjectable antibacterial dental restorative materials Bacterial microleakage has been described as the most hazardous risk in restorative dentistry. It occurs because during set of a restorative material shrinkage occurs that leads to microgaps that allow the ingress of bacteria. In order to overcome this passage of bacteria between a tooth and restoration we have been developing various new composite materials. This work involves the production of fluid pastes that can be placed in an excavated tooth and set with exposure to light to provide a permanent material that adheres and has mechanical properties comparable to the surrounding tooth structure. To overcome the shrinkage that occurs in these materials when they set they have been designed to swell by water sorption. In addition they release the antibacterial agent chlorhexidine which has been proved in microbiological studies using a constant depth film fermentor to prevent bacterial microleakage. This multidisiplinary work has involved the use of a wide range of chemical, materials science and microbiological techniques available at the Eastman.
SEM images of bacterial biofilms on the surfaces of amalgam and a commercial dental composite Injectable degradable materials for bone repair and drug delivery Various injectable materials are currently in use or under development to repair damaged / diseased bone and simultaneously act as a reservoir for controlled drug release. A bone adhesive should set rapidly after injection and form a material that has a strong bond and initial mechanical properties comparable with bone. To allow for complete repair the set material should preferably degrade slowly in a manner that encourages / matches bone re - growth. The material must also be biocompatible at all stages after application. No current material, however, is as yet ideal. For example polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cements are strong but not degradable whilst calcium phosphate cements that form hydroxyapatite (the inorganic component of bone) are weak and slow to set or degrade. Drugs can be released slowly from commercial examples of PMMA cements but with the calcium phosphate cements, release is difficult to control. At the Eastman therefore we have been characterising new brushite forming calcium phosphate cements that dissolve more readily than hydroxyapatite. We have also been synthesizing new fluid polymeric rapid set formulations that can degrade. To assess changes in formulation chemistry during set and degradation we have been developing new FTIR and Raman mapping spectroscopic methods. These techniques are also being applied to provide understanding of the mechanisms and rates at which entrapped drugs are released from the set formulations
FTIR absorbance change between 200 and 1000s after mixing a calcium phosphate cement showing peaks characteristic of brushite increasing in intensity and image of a bone cell spreading on the set cement surface PublicationsClick here for Further details and publication list. Access to Presentations and Posters Search the UCL Publication Database Contact DetailsDr. Anne Young This page last modified 12 June, 2008 by [Karen Widdowson] |
General/Patient Enquiries +44 (0)20 7915 1000
