Influence of TiO2as a filler into PMMA-ZrO2composites on structural, mechanical and biological properties for denture fabrication

Abstract

Polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) is widely being used in dentistry, while it has limited mechanical strength. Herein, PMMA composites were fabricated using heat cure technique within a system [(95-x) PMMA + 5 ZrO<inf>2</inf> + x TiO<inf>2</inf>] (x = 8, 6, 4 and 2 wt%) and thoroughly characterized using density measurements, XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDAX, compression tests, 3-point bending, tribological, and hardness tests respectively. Moreover density, crystallite size, percentage of crystallinity, compressive strength, Young's modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, modulus of resilience, modulus of toughness, and brittleness coefficient were determined. Composite contains 5 wt% ZrO<inf>2</inf>and 2 wt% TiO<inf>2</inf>referred as ZPT2 exhibited the maximum compressive strength. Additionally, flexural strength and flexural modulus were found to be highest for ZPT2. The friction coefficient and hardness were found to be the lowest for ZPT2. In MTT (3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5- diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay, MG-63 osteoblast cells were exposed to various concentrations (5–30 μg/ml) of the compounds for 24 h. The results indicated that no significant cytotoxicity was observed for ZPT2. According to the results of the dye exclusion experiment, DAPI (4, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole), and DCFH-DA (2, 7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate) staining, ZPT2 did not exhibit cellular damage, genotoxicity and reduced ROS (reactive oxygen species) production at lower concentrations. The combined biological results suggest that oral administration of the ZPT2 sample does not exhibit cytotoxicity and genotoxicity that makes it valuable for dentistry. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.