Objective
We evaluated the effects of sodium hyaluronate (HY) and carbon nanotubes functionalized with HY (HY‐CNT) on bone repair in the tooth sockets of diabetic rats.
Materials and Methods
Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (50 mg kg−1 i.v.), and the sockets were divided into normal control, diabetic control, diabetic treated with HY (1%), and diabetic treated with HY‐CNT (100 μg ml−1) groups. The sockets were analyzed according to the percentage of bone formation and the number of cell nuclei.
Results
The percentage of bone trabeculae was lower in diabetic control animals (11.16 ± 5.10% vs 41.92 ± 6.34% in normal animals) after 14 days. Treating diabetic animals with HY or HY‐CNT significantly increased the percentage of neoformed trabeculae (HY: 29.43 ± 3.29%; HY‐CNT: 36.90 ± 3.07%). Moreover, the sockets of diabetic animals had an increased number of cell nuclei and HY or HY‐CNT reduced this parameter.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that HY and HY‐CNT restore bone repair in the tooth sockets of diabetic rats, suggesting that these biomaterials are potential adjuvant therapies for the management of diabetes.