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

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.