Oral healthcare is a critical condition for high quality of life. According to statistics, gingivitis is one of major diseases in the world (The Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, 3.5 billion population worldwide). Oral diseases, that initiated by a group of multispecies bacteria with diverse extracellular slime that called biofilms, are modifiable risk factors with the cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease. Hence, effective management of biofilms is important. Since biofilms are comprised of extracellular matrix that inhibit drug diffusion, the traditional antibiotic treatment requires 500 -5000 times more concentration than planktonic bacterial infection. The biofilm cleaning in dentistry includes time-consuming and painful physical brushing. In this work, we have developed a new electric toothbrush in emphasis on demonstration of convenient and painless gingivitis improvement device. For the first time, the toothbrush has been integrated with an electromagnetic technology for effective biofilm removal, known for bioelectric effect (BE). Biofilms consists of electrically charged molecules that are affected by external electric fields. Thus, when an electric field is applied, it creates interruption of metabolism, reduction of enzyme activity, weakening surface attachment, and nonuniform electrolyte distribution, resulting in separation from the surface. Thus, integration of the BE on a toothbrush enables enhanced biofilm reduction. The toothbrush tested with mild gingival patient (N=40) at the department of dentistry, Ulsan University Hospital, South Korea. The patient used the BE toothbrush and non-BE toothbrush consecutively for 2 weeks in each, following their gingival index (GI) and plaque index (PI) measurement for the quantitative analysis. The results demonstrate 1.75 times more decrease of GI in BE toothbrush than the data of the non-BE device (p < 0.05). In conclusion, a new electromagnetic wave toothbrush has been successfully demonstrated especially in reduction of inflammation. Based on this work, we are going to further develop a medical device that dedicated on the treatment of inflammation.

A combinatorial biofilm treatment involving a low dose of antibiotics along with a small amount of electricity is known as the bioelectric effect (BE). When an external electric field or current is applied, biofilms can be affected by the resulting electrostatic force. Our group is researching the maximization of electrostatic force through the integration of both alternating and direct currents, with a voltage below the electrolysis threshold (0.82 V). To validate the efficacy of this technology, in the present work we investigated two major biofilm applications: (1) dentistry for oral biofilm infection and (2) hygiene for aerobic biofilm contamination. For each application, testing devices were developed in the form of a toothbrush and an evaporator cleaner, respectively. The dental clinical results demonstrated a 75% reduction in gingivitis compared to the non-BE applied group (n = 40, ANOVA, paired t-test, p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the hygiene testing result demonstrated an 81.8% increase in biofilm removal compared to the initial untreated sample (n = 6, ANOVA, paired t-test, p < 0.05). In conclusion, this new BE technology showed efficacy in both dental- and hygiene-associated biofilms without causing electrolysis. Further investigation and development of the BE system should continue in both the medical and hygiene fields.

Effective oral care is a critical requirement to maintain a high quality of life. Most oral diseases are caused by plaque (oral biofilm), which is also correlated with systemic diseases. A common method to remove biofilm is brushing teeth with toothpaste. However, 3.5 billion people in the world have oral diseases, meaning that more efficient methods of removing biofilms are needed. We have developed a toothbrush that applies a bioelectric effect (BE) utilizing an electric force for biofilm removal. It demonstrated significantly higher biofilm removal efficiency than non-BE manual toothbrushes. Tests were performed in saline and toothpaste conditions using various pressures. Results showed that the BE toothbrush had a significantly higher biofilm removal efficiency in saline (0.5 N: 215.43 ± 89.92%, 2.5 N: 116.77 ± 47.02%) and in a toothpaste slurry (0.5 N: 104.96 ± 98.93%, 2.5 N: 96.23 ± 35.16%) than non-BE manual toothbrushes. Results also showed that BE toothbrushes were less dependent on toothpaste. This study suggests that the application of BE can be a new solution to plaque problems in oral care.

Effective oral care is a critical requirement to maintain high quality of life. Most oral diseases are caused by plaque (oral biofilm), which is also correlated with systemic diseases. A common method to remove biofilm is brushing teeth with a toothpaste. However, 3.5 billion people in the world have oral diseases, meaning that more efficient methods of removing biofilms are needed. We have developed a toothbrush applying bioelectric effect (BE) utilizing an electric force for biofilm removal. It demonstrated significantly higher biofilm removal efficiency than non-BE manual toothbrushes. Tests were performed in saline and toothpaste conditions using various pressure. Results showed that the BE toothbrush had a significantly higher biofilm removal efficiency in saline (0.5 N: 215.43 ± 89.92 %, 2.5 N: 116.77 ± 47.02 %) and in a toothpaste slurry (0.5 N: 104.96 ± 98.93 %, 2.5 N: 96.23 ± 35.16 %) than non-BE manual toothbrushes. Results also showed that BE toothbrushes were less dependent on toothpaste. This study suggests that the application of BE can be a new solution to plaque problems in oral care.

Biofouling initiated by biofilm (slime) formation is a key challenge for practical ocean engineering and construction. This study evaluated a new anti-biofilm technology using bioelectricity. The anti-microfouling electrical technology is based on the principles of the bioelectric effect, known as the application of an electrostatic force for biofilm removal. Previously, the electricity was optimized below 0.82V to avoid electrolysis, which can prevent the production of biocides. A test boat comprised of microelectronics for electrical signal generation with electrodes for an anti-biofouling effect was developed. The tests were conducted in the West Sea of Korea (Wangsan Marina, Incheon) for three weeks. The surface biofouling was quantified. A significant reduction of fouling was observed under the bioelectric effect conditions, with approximately 30% enhanced prevention of fouling progress (P<0.05). This technology can be an alternative eco-friendly technique for anti-microfouling that can be applied for canals, vessels, and coastal infrastructure because it does not induce electrolysis.

Biofilms comprise diverse bacteria and fungi with slime material, especially in humid conditions. The surface of the heat ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, especially at the evaporator, is in high moisture conditions due to the compression and relaxation of refrigerant. Biofilms comprise electrically polarized molecules, which include polysaccharide, DNA, liposome, and diverse amino acids. Thus, when an electric field is applied to biofilms, the field creates an electrostatic force that enhances the destruction of biofilms and results in detachment from the surface. The principles are known as the bioelectric effect. A new bioelectric (BE) technology has been developed that is focused on the optimization of electrical energy for biofilm removal, and its efficacy has been previously demonstrated. In this work, a prototype of the BE device for HVAC application has been fabricated and tested. Escherichia coli (E. coli) biofilms were utilized as a standard model of biofilm on the HVAC evaporator. The results demonstrate that when the BE technology was applied for one hour, approximately 81.8% of total biofilm was removed. Furthermore, live cells in biofilms were reduced by approximately 71.4% under the BE device, compared to non-treated biofilms.