In silico affinity between analgesic/anti-inflammatory drugs and the transient receptor potential A1 to predict potential pharmacological managing approaches for bleaching sensitivity

Abstract

Reducing in-office tooth bleaching sensitivity represents a challenge for professionals. Researchers have associated the block of the pain receptor TRPA1 with reducing bleaching sensitivity. However, the chemical affinity of analgesic/anti-inflammatory drugs to the TRPA1 needs to be verified. To perform a virtual screening of multiple drugs (analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs) to verify chemical affinity for the TRPA1 receptor. The crystal structure of the TRPA1 receptor proteins was retrieved from the Protein Data Bank. The SMILES codes of the ligands were extracted from PubChem. The binding energy of the complex was obtained in ∆G-kcal/mol by AutoDock Vina© and replicated in the webservers SwissDock©, Dockthor©, and CbDock©. LigPlus© confirmed the binding sites. Codeine and dexamethasone showed regularity among all servers, even showing binding energy values of-7.9 kcal/mol for codeine and-8.1 kcal/mol for dexamethasone. Codeine and dexamethasone may be potential drugs to manage tooth bleaching sensitivity if they reach the dental pulp TRPA1 receptor.