Abstract
Modification of dental monomer compositions with antimicrobial agents must not cause deterioration of the structure, physicochemical, or mechanical properties of the resulting polymers. In this study, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt.% quaternary ammonium polyethylenimine nanoparticles (QA-PEI-NPs) were obtained and admixed with a Bis-GMA/TEGDMA (60:40) composition. Formulations were then photocured and tested for their degree of conversion (DC), polymerization shrinkage (S), glass transition temperature (Tg), water sorption (WS), solubility (SL), water contact angle (WCA), flexural modulus (E), flexural strength (σ), hardness (HB), and impact resistance (an). We found that the DC, S, Tg, WS, E, and HB were not negatively affected by the addition of QA-PEI-NPs. Changes in these values rarely reached statistical significance. On the other hand, the SL increased upon increasing the QA-PEI-NPs concentration, whereas σ and an decreased. These results were usually statistically significant. The WCA values increased slightly, but they remained within the range corresponding to hydrophilic surfaces. To conclude, the addition of 1 wt.% QA-PEI-NPs is suitable for applications in dental materials, as it ensures sufficient physicochemical and mechanical properties.
Highlights
The development of dental materials with antibacterial activity represents a challenge in modern biomaterial science engineering [1,2]
40 wt.% triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) was modified by the physical admixing of QA-PEI-NPs
The results showed that the modification of the bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA)/TEGDMA composition with QA-PEI-NPs did not cause statistically meaningful changes in the Tg values
Summary
The development of dental materials with antibacterial activity represents a challenge in modern biomaterial science engineering [1,2]. Used commercial dental restorative composites ensure satisfactory mechanical properties, biocompatibility, aesthetics, and economics [3,4]. One of the biggest remaining problems is the marginal gap formation between the restoration and the adjacent tooth tissue due to polymerization shrinkage [5,6,7]. Bacterial metabolic processes lead to the emergence of secondary caries, inflammation reactions, and in extreme cases, dental restoration failure [9,10,11]. The most frequent method for providing dental restorative composites with antibacterial properties is a physical modification by admixing a bioactive compound [1]
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