Effect of nanoclay addition on physical, chemical, optical and biological properties of experimental dental resin composites

Abstract Objective To prepare organically modified montmorillonite (OM MMT) and assess mechanical, physical, chemical and biological effects of its introduction into resin-composites. Methods Natural MMT clay was modified by a methacrylate functionalized quaternary ammonium intercalating agent. Interlayer distance was measured by X-ray diffraction. Dental composites were then prepared with x = 0, 1, 2.5, 5 or 7.5 wt.% of OM MMT, (75 − x) wt.% of silanated barium glass and 25 wt.% of methacrylate based matrix). Relative weight loss was measured and the effect of the substitution on mechanical properties was studied by dynamic mechanical analysis and hardness tests. Properties of resin composites were evaluated in terms of water sorption, light transmittance, biological tests and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results Resin based composites with well-dispersed organically modified MMT were successfully prepared. There were no significant weight loss differences shown by TGA within all samples. The DMA analysis showed that the introduction of clays have a beneficial effect in increasing the storage and elastic modulus of composites. Clay presence was shown to interfere with the blue light transmittance, affecting Vickers hardness and water sorption levels. The amount of released monomers measured from extracts was below expected levels for this type of materials and biological tests show satisfactory cell compatibility. Significance This paper reports the successful functionalization of MMT by a methacrylate group and further incorporation in experimental dental composites. Physical and biological results show a potential interest to the application of nanoclays into dental resin composites.