Effect of the silane concentration on the selected properties of an experimental microfilled composite resin

Abstract

The aim of present study was evaluate the effect of different percentages of an organo-functionalized silane monomer as adhesion promoter between barium borosilicate glass fillers and (co)monomer blend in experimental dental composite resin. Gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) was assessed in an experimental luting cement, at the concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 (wt%). The experimental resin without fillers was used as control group. The flexural strength (FS) and elastic modulus (E) were obtained by mini-flexural test and expressed in MPa and GPa, respectively. Water sorption (WS) and solubility (SL) were determined based on ISO standard 4049:2000. Kruskal–Wallis and Student–Newman–Keuls test were used for comparisons of FS, E and WS. The comparisons of SL means were performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s method (α?=?5?%). The treatment with 3?% silane revealed statistically higher FS, while the group treated with 1?% silane showed statistically higher E than 3?% silane (p?<?0.05) and E similar to control. The experimental composite without filler content showed the highest SL (p?<?0.05) while the control composite showed the highest WS (p?<?0.05). Based on present findings, flexural strength and elastic modulus can sometimes be improved with lower concentrations (1–3?%) rather than higher concentrations (5–7?%) of the silane (γ-MPS) used as coupling agent on barium borosilicate glass filler microparticles of the dental composite resin.