ESR investigation of ROS generated by H2O2 bleaching with TiO2 coated HAp

It is well known that clinical bleaching can be achieved with a solution of 30% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or H2O2/titanium dioxide (TiO2) combination. This study examined the hypothesis that TiO2 coated with hydroxyapatite (HAp-TiO2) can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are generated via photocatalysis using electron spin resonance (ESR). The bleaching properties of HAp-TiO2 in the presence of H2O2 can be measured using hematoporphyrin litmus paper and extracted teeth. We demonstrate that superoxides (O-2(center dot-)) and hydroxyl radicals (HO center dot) can be generated through excitation of anatase TiO2, rutile TiO2, anatase HAp-TiO2, and rutile HAp-TiO2 in the presence of H2O2. The combination of R HAp-TiO2 with H2O2 produced the highest level of HO center dot generation and the most marked bleaching effects of all the samples. The superior bleaching effects exhibited by R HAp-TiO2 with H2O2 suggest that this combination may lead to novel methods for the clinical application of bleaching treatments.