Silver Loaded Radial Mesoporous Silica: Preparation and Application in Dental Resins

doi:10.15541/jim20240305

Abstract

Abstract:

Dental resins are currently the most commonly used filling materials for dental caries clinically due to their advantages of aesthetics, safety, and easy operation. However, their service life is limited because of their low mechanical strength and insufficient antibacterial activity. In this study, radial mesoporous silica was prepared firstly, and then loaded nanosilver into its porous channels to obtain silver loaded radial mesoporous silica (Ag-RMS). Effects of different contents of Ag-RMS on antibacterial, mechanical, and physicochemical properties of dental composite resins were studied. The results showed that Ag-RMS could significantly improve the antibacterial performance of composite resins, achieving an antibacterial rate of 99.68% against Streptococcus mutans when the addition amount of Ag-RMS was 5% (mass fraction). Mechanical strength of the composite resin gradually increased with the increase of Ag-RMS content. When the addition amount of Ag-RMS reached 7% (in mass), the flexural strength of composite resins was 28.16% higher than that of resin matrix. Moreover, the addition of Ag-RMS had almost no obvious effect on their polymerization shrinkage rate, monomer conversion rate, curing depth, and surface hydrophobicity. These results indicate that the prepared Ag-RMS in this study can improve the comprehensive performance of the novel composite resins.

Key words: dental resin, silver loaded mesoporous silica, antibacterial property, mechanical property

CLC Number:

TQ174

WANG Yueyue, HUANG Jiahui, KONG Hongxing, LI Huaizhu, YAO Xiaohong. Silver Loaded Radial Mesoporous Silica: Preparation and Application in Dental Resins[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2025, 40(1): 77-83.

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 SEM image of RMS (a), SEM images (b, c) and EDS result (d) of Ag-RMS

Table 1 Chemical composition of Ag-RMS

Element	O	Si	Ag	Total
Mass fraction/%	60.44	37.59	1.97	100

Fig. 2 XRD pattern (a), particle size distribution (b), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm (c), and pore size distribution (d) of Ag-RMS

Table 2 Particle size, specific surface area, pore volume and pore size of Ag-RMS

Sample	Average size/nm	Specific surface area/(m²·g^-1)	Cumulative pore volume/(cm³·g^-1)	Average pore diameter/nm
Ag-RMS	421±181	348.15	0.43	5.15

Fig. 3 Photographic antibacterial effect of neat resin matrix (a) and dental composite resins with 2% (b), 5% (c), and 7% (d) Ag-RMS contents

Fig. 4 Antibacterial rates of dental composite resins with different contents of Ag-RMS

Fig. 5 Effect of different contents of Ag-RMS on the mechanical properties of dental composite resins (a) Flexural strength; (b) Flexural modulus; (c) Compressive strength; (d) Vickers microhardness. *: p<0.05, **: p<0.01

Fig. 6 Effect of different mass ratios of Ag-RMS and solid silica on the mechanical properties of dental composite resins (a) Flexural strength; (b) Flexural modulus; (c) Compressive strength; (d) Vickers microhardness. *: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001

Fig. 7 Polymerization shrinkage (a), degree of conversion (b), curing depth (c), and contact angle (d) of dental composite resins with different inorganic fillers (*: p < 0.05)

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