Mesosil

Mesosil develops and manufactures nanometre-scale, silica-based additives that provide long-term antimicrobial protection for dental and medical materials. The company's core product is a proprietary platform technology that enables the high-capacity delivery and sustained, slow release of bioactive agents to prevent infections at the tissue-biomaterial interface. This technology aims to extend the lifespan of devices like dental fillers and implants. In dental applications, the additives have been shown to reduce recurrent tooth decay by up to 80% and are designed to seamlessly integrate into existing manufacturing processes.

The company originated from the PhD research of founder and CEO Cameron Stewart at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Dentistry. While pursuing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Stewart, alongside supervisors Yoav Finer and Ben Hatton, developed the novel method of engineering silica particles supersaturated with anti-bacterial agents. After filing the first patent in 2017, Mesosil was formally launched and spun out as an independent business in 2018. The company was incubated at the University of Toronto and participated in the UTEST (University of Toronto Early Stage Technology) program.

Mesosil's business model is to supply its additives to medical device manufacturers. The company is initially focused on the dental market in the United States and Europe, citing a clearer use case and lower regulatory barriers compared to other medical fields. Its clients, who are primarily dental original equipment manufacturers, must obtain regulatory approval for their end-products, a process Mesosil supports. The technology is also being evaluated for applications in orthopedics, implantable devices, bone cement, and antifouling coatings. The firm has secured nearly $3.1 million CAD in total funding, including a $2.2 million CAD seed round in May 2024 led by GreenSky Capital.

Keywords: antimicrobial additives, biomaterials, silica-based platform, drug delivery, dental materials, medical devices, infection prevention, nanotechnology, restorative dentistry, dental composites, anti-infective, implantable devices, sustained release, biomaterial longevity, recurrent caries, bone cement, medtech, life sciences, nanostructured materials, bioactive agents