科学家们发明了一种神奇的方法，可以让牙釉质再生

科学家们发明了一种神奇的方法，可以让牙釉质再生

It's the hardest substance in the human body, and it's irreplaceable. Around the world, billions are affected by tooth decay stemming from the loss of tooth enamel, but new research offers fresh hope to end this global problem.

它是人体中最坚硬的物质，是不可替代的。全世界有数十亿人受到牙釉质缺失导致的蛀牙的影响，但新的研究为解决这一全球性问题带来了新的希望。

Scientists in China have developed a liquid solution that can effectively grow back the external surface of damaged tooth enamel, using a material that mimics the natural mineralisation process of our teeth's protective outer layer.

中国科学家开发出一种液体溶液，可以有效地将受损牙釉质的外表面生长回去，这种液体溶液使用的材料模仿了我们牙齿保护外层的自然矿化过程。

Tooth enamel is formed in a biomineralisation process whereby cells called ameloblasts secrete proteins that eventually harden into that tough external coating of our teeth.

牙釉质是在生物矿化过程中形成的，在这个过程中，被称为成釉细胞的细胞分泌蛋白质，最终硬化成我们牙齿坚硬的外层。

The problem is that ameloblasts are only present during tooth development, meaning our mature teeth have virtually no natural ability to self-repair after they've formed.

问题是成釉细胞只存在于牙齿发育过程中，这意味着我们成熟的牙齿在形成后实际上没有自我修复的能力。

Scientists have tried a range of approaches to artificially coax enamel re-mineralisation, but according to researchers from Zhejiang University, previous attempts have mostly failed, because the complex, crystalline structure of enamel has never been successfully replicated in the lab.

科学家们尝试了一系列的人工诱导珐琅质再矿化的方法，但据浙江大学的研究人员称，此前的尝试大多失败，因为珐琅质复杂的晶体结构从未在实验室成功复制。

At least, not before now, the team suggests in a new paper.

研究小组在一篇新论文中建议，至少在此之前不会。

"We herein reveal that a rationally designed material composed of calcium phosphate ion clusters can be used to produce a precursor layer to induce the epitaxial crystal growth of enamel apatite, which mimics the biomineralisation crystalline-amorphous frontier of hard tissue development in nature," the researchers, co-led by biomimetics and materials scientist Zhaoming Liu, write in their study.

“我们在此揭示，合理设计的磷酸钙离子团簇材料可用于制备前驱体层，诱导釉质磷灰石的外延晶体生长，模拟自然界硬组织发育的生物矿化结晶-非晶态前沿。”由仿生学和材料科学家刘兆明共同领导的研究人员在他们的研究报告中写道。

The achievement, which the team is billing as a world-first, required a new kind of calcium phosphate ion clusters (CPICs), measuring just 1.5 nanometres in diameter (about one billionth of a metre).

这一成就，被该团队誉为世界第一，需要一种新的磷酸钙离子簇(CPICs)，直径只有1.5纳米(约十亿分之一米)。

These tiny particles were then stabilised in an ethanol solution with a chemical called triethylamine, which prevents them from clumping together.

然后，这些微小的颗粒用一种叫做三乙胺的化学物质在乙醇溶液中稳定下来，防止它们聚集在一起。

When their gel-like material was applied to human teeth donated by patients, the ultra-small clusters successfully fused to the fish-scale-like structure of native enamel, replicating the coating of the tooth with an indistinguishable and equally hard repair layer that developed to a thickness of up to 2.8 micrometres within 48 hours.

当它们的凝胶状材料应用于患者捐赠的牙齿时，超小簇成功地融合到天然牙釉质的鱼鳞状结构，复制牙齿的涂层，具有难以区分和同样硬的修复层，其厚度达到在48小时达到2.8微米。

While that's hundreds of times thinner than a full layer of natural tooth enamel, the team thinks that repeated coatings with their CPIC solution could effectively thicken the artificial enamel, and that further refinements to the material could augment its thickness.

虽然这比一层完整的天然牙釉质要薄上数百倍，但研究小组认为，用CPIC溶液反复涂覆可以有效地增厚人工牙釉质，对材料的进一步改进可以增加其厚度。

"Our newly regenerated enamel has the same structure and similar mechanical properties as native enamel," Liu told Sky News.

“我们新再生的牙釉质与天然牙釉质具有相同的结构和相似的机械性能。”刘告诉天空新闻。

"We hope to realise tooth enamel regrowth without using fillings which contain totally different materials and we hope, if all goes smoothly, to start trials in people within one to two years."

“我们希望在不使用含有完全不同材料的填充物的情况下实现牙釉质的再生，如果一切顺利的话，我们希望在一到两年内对人体进行试验。”

To meet that timeframe, the team will need to demonstrate that their material is safe – especially since there are concerns about the toxicity of triethylamine, which is used as the stabilising compound.

为了满足这个时间框架，研究小组需要证明他们的材料是安全的，特别是考虑到三乙胺作为稳定剂的毒性。

The researchers say the chemical evaporates in ethanol during the process, so should not pose a risk, and are currently testing the substance in mice, in the lead-up to hoped-for clinical trials.

研究人员表示，在这一过程中，这种化学物质会在乙醇中蒸发，因此不应该构成风险。目前，他们正在小鼠身上测试这种物质，以期进行预期的临床试验。

In the meantime, experts say it could be several years before this material finds its way into clinical use at your local dentist – provided future tests indicate it's both safe and effective.

与此同时，专家表示，如果未来的测试表明这种材料既安全又有效，那么这种材料要在当地牙医那里得到临床应用可能还需要几年的时间。

Until such time, conventional advice on dental health remains as sound as ever.

在此之前，关于牙齿健康的传统建议和以往一样可靠。

"Prevention is the best approach," biomedical researcher Chen Haifeng from Peking University, who wasn't part of the study, told the South China Morning Post.

“预防是最好的方法。”来自北京大学的生物医学研究员陈海峰(音译)告诉《南华早报》，他没有参与这项研究。

"We should never wait until the damage is done. Our teeth are a miracle of nature. Artificial replacement will never do the job as well."

“我们永远不要等到损害已经造成。我们的牙齿是大自然的奇迹。人工替代永远也做不到这一点。”

The findings are reported in Science Advances.

研究结果发表在《科学进展》杂志上。