Impact of adding 3% titanium oxide nanoparticles in different denture base materials on some of the biological, physical, and mechanical properties properties: In-vitro study

Background/aim
Acrylic resin denture base material with all its varieties and curing techniques enormously influence their physical, biological, and mechanical properties. This study designed to evaluate and compare the impact of acrylic resin reinforcement with titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiONP) on physical, biological, and mechanical criteria of two dissimilar denture base materials.
Materials and methods
This study was constructed on 120 specimens of 2 different types of acrylic resin denture base materials. The specimens were divided equally into 2 groups (60 each), group I (heat cured acrylic resin) and group II (microwave cured acrylic resin). Each group was additionally divided into two subgroups (each 30). Subgroup A as control, while subgroup B was modified with 3% TiONP. Biological evaluation was performed on Enterococcus faecalis by using antimicrobial assay by agar diffusion test color stability via employing spectrophotometer, and the Modulus of elasticity through universal testing machine.
Results
Regarding the results of biological assessment, groups IA and IIA (control groups) revealed no inhibitory zone, while groups modified with 3% TiONP group IIB demonstrated significantly higher (P < 0.05) inhibitory zone when compared with group IB. Concerning color stability, Regarding color stability, Group IA and IIA (control groups) demonstrated the highest color changes, while Group IB and IIB(modified groups) demonstrated the lowest color changes. In modulus of elasticity, groups IB and IIB were significantly higher (P<0.05) than groups IIA and IIB.
Conclusion
Adding 3% TiONP to heat and microwave cured resins induced antibacterial characteristics against E. faecalis. Besides improvement of the evaluated mechanical (modulus of elasticity) and color stability properties.