Nanoparticles as void fillers in glass ionomer cement for enhanced physicomechanical properties

Abstract

The study evaluated the addition of silver (Ag) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles to conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC), considering compressive strength (CS), diametral tensile strength (DTS), flexural strength (FS), and hardness. Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles were blended into the powder of a commercially available GIC restorative material at 5% (w/w). Unblended powder was used as a control. One hundred twenty samples were prepared from two study groups and one control group (n = 10). CS, DTS, and FS were evaluated using a universal testing machine, while hardness was measured by Vickers microhardness testing. The data obtained were analyzed using One-way analysis of variance and the Tukey?s test (p < 0.05). GIC containing Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles significantly improved the CS, DTS, and hardness compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, the FS was not much affected by the addition of either of the nanoparticles (p >0.05). TiO2 blended GIC demonstrated significantly higher CS (154.20+2.38) and DTS (13.2±0.5 MPa) compared to control 117.2±1.2 MPa and 7.2 ±0.8 MPa, respectively. While Blend of GIC+Ag nanoparticles showed the highest FS (29.0±0.7 MPa). Additionally, the blend of GIC+TiO2 exhibited the highest hardness (90.4±1.1 VHN). Ag and TiO2 blended GICs might guarantee their use in occlusal or higher stress-bearing areas.