Figure 1.

The binding capacity of PAMAM-NH₂ to demineralized dentin. (A) The ATR-IR spectrum of the demineralized dentin, after conditioning with CHX or PAMAM-NH₂ and after washing with PBS. (B) The CLSM images of the demineralized dentin immobilized with FITC-labeled PAMAM-NH₂ or free FITC, after washing with PBS. (C) Bar graph of relative fluorescence intensity of the two groups. Data are means ± SDs. Data obtained in the three groups (N = 6/group) were analyzed. For FITC-PAMAM-NH₂, columns labeled with the same lowercase letters are not significantly different (p > 0.05). For FITC, columns labeled with different uppercase letters are significantly different (p < 0.05). ATR-IR, attenuated total reflectance–infrared; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; CLSM, confocal laser scanning microscopy; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate.