Improvement of PMMA Dental Matrix Performance by Addition of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Clay Nanotubes.

Mariafrancesca Cascione,Maria Luisa De Giorgi,Giovanni Albanese,Fabio Paladini,Massimo Corsalini,Paolo Pellegrino,Rosaria Rinaldi,Valeria De Matteis

doi:10.3390/nano11082027

Abstract

Over the last decades, several materials have been proposed for the fabrication of dental and mandibular prosthetic implants. Today, the poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) resin is the most spread material, due to its ease of processing, low cost, aesthetic properties, low weight, biocompatibility, and biostability in the oral cavity. However, the porous surface (which favors the adhesion of microorganisms) and the weak mechanical properties (which lead to wear or fracture) are the major concerns. The inclusion of engineered nanomaterials in the acrylic matrix could improve the performances of PMMA. In this study, we added two different kind of nanomaterials, namely titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) and halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) at two concentrations (1% and 3% w/w) in PMMA. Then, we assessed the effect of nanomaterials inclusion by the evaluation of specific physical parameters: Young’s modulus, roughness, and wettability. In addition, we investigated the potential beneficial effects regarding the Candida albicans (C. albicans) colonization reduction, the most common yeast responsible of several infections in oral cavity. Our experimental results showed an improvement of PMMA performance, following the addition of TiO2NPs and HNTs, in a dose dependent manner. In particular, the presence of TiO2NPs in the methacrylate matrix induced a greater increase in PMMA stiffness respect to HNTs addition. On the other hand, HNTs reduced the rate of C. albicans colonization more significantly than TiO2NPs. The results obtained are of great interest for the improvement of PMMA physico-chemical properties, in view of its possible application in clinical dentistry.

Highlights

The rehabilitation of masticatory function in edentulous patients, due to trauma, dental diseases or cancer, is one of the aspects of greatest interest in reconstructive medicine and dentistry
In this work, using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we evaluated the impact on elastic and surface properties of PMMA after addition by both synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) and commercial halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) at two different concentrations (1% and 3% w/w)
We evaluated the change in PMMA properties following its implementation with two different types of engineered nanomaterial: TiO2 NPs and HNTs

Summary

Introduction

The rehabilitation of masticatory function in edentulous patients, due to trauma, dental diseases or cancer, is one of the aspects of greatest interest in reconstructive medicine and dentistry. The need to improve the quality of oral prostheses and the quality of life of patients, has stimulated the research for biocompatible materials (non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-carcinogenic) able to ensure good structural and mechanical performance. An ideal biomaterial for dental and mandibular prostheses should be chemically stable, mechanically rigid, and non-deformable. Prosthetic material should be resistant to impact and to mechanical stress arising from masticatory forces. Another point to consider is reletad to the aesthetic characheristics; ideally, the color of the material must resemble the color of the oral cavity as closely as possible.

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Results

Conclusion