Investigating the effect of Copper Addition on SiO2-ZnO-CaO-SrO-P2O5 Glass Polyalkenoate Cements: Physical, Mechanical and Biological Behavior

Abstract The physical, mechanical, and biological behaviour of copper containing glass polyalkenotare cements were investigated, where copper (Cu2+) was incorporated into a SiO2-ZnO-CaO-SrO-P2O5 based glass system. Three GPCs were formulated for this study, a Control and two Cu-GPCs with 6 (Cu-1) and 12 (Cu-2) Mol.% of CuO substituted for the SiO2 in the glass. Rheological evaluation of GPCs determined that the addition of the Cu decreases the working and setting times in the cements. The mechanical properties of the cements were evaluated after 1 - 21 days incubation in DI water. The compressive strength of the cements were found to range between 21-36 MPa, with Cu-1 having the highest compressive strength. Biaxial flexural strength and Shear Bond Strength of the GPCs were found to increase with respect to time and were higher for the Cu-GPCs at 14 MPa and 2.1 MPa respectively. Bioactivity testing was conducted using Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) which revealed CaP precipitants on each of the GPCs surfaces. The effect o f Cu addition to the GPCs greatly enhanced the antibacterial inhibition zone (IZ) when tested in E.coli (3mm), S.aureus (24mm) and S.epidermidis (22mm). Cytocompatibility testing revealed more favorable MC3T3 osteoblast cell viability when compared to the Control GPC.