Studying the effect of adding Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles on the compressive strength of chemical and heat-activated acrylic denture base resins

ABSTRACT

The commonly used acrylic resins for fabricating denture base suffer from poor mechanical properties. This study aimed to assess the effect of incorporating Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) as a reinforcement agent on the compressive strength of different acrylic denture base materials. Thirty-two cylindrical specimens (22 mm in height and 12 mm in diameter) were prepared from PMMA resins with and without TiO₂ NPs. They were allocated into two main groups according to the materials used such as cold cure and heat cure denture base resins and then divided into two subgroups each containing eight specimens: control (without nanoparticles) and experimental (with 2 wt.% TiO₂ NPs). TiO₂ NPs were synthesised via a chemical processing route. Particle morphology and size distribution were assessed using SEM and AFM while XRD technique was employed to determine the crystalline structure of the NPs. Compression test was performed on the specimens using a universal Instron testing machine to compare the compressive strength. Size of crystalline TiO₂ NPs varied between 40 and 80 nm. The mean compressive strength for the cold cure acrylic resin (control group) and its nanocomposite (experimental group) were found to be 15.37 MPa and 17.42 MPa while for the heat cure acrylic resin and its nanocomposite were 23.04 MPa and 24.30 MPa. A statistically significant difference was recorded between the compressive strengths of cold cure acrylic resin and its nanocomposite. However, the difference was non-significant in the case of heat cure acrylic resin. The compressive strengths of both cold cure and heat cure acrylic resins increased after the incorporation TiO₂ NPs.

KEYWORDS:

• PMMA acrylic resin
• heat cure
• cold cure
• TiO₂ nanoparticles
• compressive strength
• nanocomposite
• denture base

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknlowedge the support from University of Kufa to provide the experimental facility.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any funding.