The effect of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on microhardness and SEM-EDS analysis of glass ionomer cement and amalgomer

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the addition of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on elemental composition and micro hardness of a conventional glass-ionomer and an amalgomer.Methods: A conventional glass ionomer cement (GICs) and an amalgomer were used in this study. Seventeen samples were prepared from each material using teflon molds (8 x 2) and determined as the control group. Each material was then blended with 3 % (w/w) TiO2 nanoparticles (anatase phase, 17 nm particle size) and seventeen samples were prepared to form experimental groups. Characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles, surface morphology evaluation and elemental composition analysis of the specimens were performed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Distribution Spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Specimens were submitted to the Vickers micro hardness test for 10 seconds at a load of 100gf. Data were analyzed with Shapiro-Wilk, Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni post-hoc tests (p=0.05).Results: EDS mapping showed the presence of elements typical for (GICs) in the composition of the control and experimental groups and a high proportion of titanium in the composition of experimental groups. Micro hardness data showed a small insignificant increase for the experimental groups compared with the control groups (p>0.05). While the highest mean microhardness value was recorded in Amalgomer (experimental) (84.34±4.33), Ionofil (control) exhibited the lowest mean micro hardness value (58.62±6.90).Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that the addition of 3% Ti02 nanoparticles improves the surface microhardness of the tested materials, although statistically insignificant, compared to unmodified GICs and amalgomer.