The era of the "dependence on the central government" is over, and national universities have entered an era in which they aim for self-sufficiency. Under such circumstances, the first thing that academics should aim for is "patent royalties". However, Japanese academics are still not familiar with "patents". This article provides a short overview of 3 points regarding "patents.", which are (1) the 5 conditions for a patent to be granted, (2) a patent issued by the university alone (single application), and (3) the time schedule before and after the patent application.

"Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)" play a crucial role in dental device manufacturing, producing the elements of internal components and collaborating with universities for technical problem-solving. "Automation of research operations" emerges as the key tool in industry-university collaboration with SMEs, addressing challenges in software operations and enhancing core problem-solving. The preparedness of researchers to simplify / labor-saving the complexity of development as much as possible will lower the barriers to collaboration with the companies.

For patients who cannot take care of their own oral cavity themselves, the idea of controlling biofilms by using the factors involved in biofilm formation has led to industry-university collaboration. There are two major research studies, the first of which is the use of L8020 lactic acid bacteria. The oral cavity contains a resident flora called the oral flora. Like the intestinal flora, it contains lactic acid bacteria, so we have been conducting research on the application of probiotics to the oral cavity. In particular, we introduce research seeds using Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L8020 lactic acid bacteria), which exhibit high antibacterial effects against mutans streptococci, periodontal disease bacteria, and Candida species.

Secondly, to add antimicrobial properties to the surface of teeth and implants, we synthesized Etak, an antibacterial agent that has both an antiseptic part used for disinfecting the hands and so on, and a silane-based immobilization part. Etak makes it possible to easily perform antibacterial processing on materials that previously did not have antibacterial properties simply by spraying or immersing them. Etak also has an antiviral effect and is used for various purposes.

This paper introduces specific examples of industry-university collaborative research, such as patent acquisition and royalties for L8020 and Etak.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is an inflammatory mediator that is released during the early stages of the inflammatory response and plays an important role in the development of periodontitis. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is associated with the attraction and activation of neutrophils into the area of inflammation, which is considered an important factor in the regulation of inflammatory responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of TNF-α stimulation on IL-8 production in Ca9-22 cells, a human gingival epithelial cell line. Stimulation with TNF-α enhanced IL-8 production and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. U0126, a potent and selective MEK1/2 inhibitor, inhibited phosphorylation of ERK1/2 but not p38. These findings suggest that the enhancement of IL-8 production by TNF-α-stimulated Ca9-22 may lead to the induction and activation of neutrophils into inflamed tissues and worsen periodontitis.

The issues of antimicrobial susceptibility and biosafety are supposed to be complcated. Angiogenesis is one of the most important factors in wound healing. Therefore, we focused on three antibiotics that are known to have a certain effects on periodontopathogenic bacteria and infected root canal bacteria, and exposed cultured cells to these antibiotics to examine their effects on cell viability and angiogenesis. The cell viability was reduced by less than half in all three samples used in this study at concentrations higher than 0.5 mg/mL. During wound healing, angiogenesis occurs through the interaction of fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and other cells. Thus, the possibility that antimicrobial components dissolved in saliva might delay the wound healing cannot be excluded. The balance between antimicrobial potency, physical properties, and biological safety must be considered when using antibiotics.