Background: The daily cleaning routine of the silicone maxillofacial prostheses by the patient may cause some alteration in the materials properties. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different disinfection procedures on some properties of silicon dioxide reinforced Cosmesil M511 HTV maxillofacial silicone. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty (160) specimens were prepared by mixing 5% SiO2 nano particles and 0.5% intrinsic cream color into the silicone polymer according to manufacturer's instructions. Specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the performed test (tear strength, surface hardness, surface roughness and color) with 40 specimens each. Each group was further subdivided according to the disinfection procedure conducted (control, microwave exposure, neutral soap and 4% chlorhexidine gluconate). Measurements for tear strength were done using universal testing machine. Surface hardness test was carried out with a Shore A Durometer. Surface roughness was analyzed with a portable digital Profilometer. Color change was established with a Spectrophotometer. After the initial testing, all specimens were submitted to disinfection procedure 3 times a week for 60 days. Measurements were repeated and data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Fisher's LSD or Games-Howell test. Results: Spectrophotometer results showed non-significant decrease in the light absorbance of all experimental groups after disinfection, indicating a strong integration between the nano filler and the polymeric chains, which was not broken during the disinfection procedure. Highly-significant increase in Shore A hardness was recorded, while the decrease in surface roughness was highly significant in all experimental groups. Tear strength reduced significantly after disinfection in all experimental groups. Conclusion: Disinfection seemed to cause different amount of alteration in all of the tested properties of silicone. High color stability is expected in this type of maxillofacial silicone after disinfection.Although microwave exposure had increased the hardness of the material, it is considered a satisfactory disinfection procedure since it caused the least effect on the tear strength and surface roughness of the material. Therefore, microwave exposure is recommended for the disinfection of maxillofacial silicone prostheses.
Background: The longevity of any prosthesis depends on the materials from which it was fabricated, that is why, defects in the material properties may reduce the service life of prosthesis and necessitate its replacement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different concentrations of Polyamide-6 (Nylon-6) on the tear and tensile strength of A-2186 RTV silicone elastomer. Materials and Methods: 80 samples were fabricated by the addition of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% by weight PA-6 micro-particles powder to A-2186 platinum RTV silicone elastomer. The study samples were divided into four (4) groups, each group containing 20 samples. One control group was prepared without PA-6 micro particles and three experimental groups were pr
... Show MoreObjective This study aimed to evaluate the effects of disinfectant solutions, namely, the alcoholic extract of Salvadora persica L. (A1 = 10% and A2 = 15%) and chlorhexidine digluconate (A3 = 2%), on the tear strength and hardness of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) VST50F and heat temperature vulcanizing (HTV) Cosmesil M511 silicone elastomers before and after reinforcement with nanofillers (TiO2) and intrinsic pigment. Materials and Methods: A total of 320 specimens were prepared, with 160 specimens each for RTV and HTV silicone. Forty specimens were evaluated before disinfection and divided into two equal groups, namely, control (without additive) and experimental (with ad
This study aims to evaluate the biocompatibility of a novel filler material intended to improve the longevity of polymer systems used in prosthetics in respect of cytotoxicity and skin irritation. RTV50F silicone elastomer incorporated with various percentages of hexagonal boron nitride (H-BN) (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1 wt%) have been tested. Silicone without H-BN was utilized as the control for comparison. The in vitro cytotoxicity test includes specimens (n=18) with 10 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness applied directly to the normal human fibroblast cell line (NHF) and incubated for 72 hours, then 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine the cell viability. The skin irritati
... Show MoreMany faces are exposed to degradation, discoloration, changes in humidity. The primary objective has improved some properties of hybrid nanocomposites materials that used for restoring of the function maxillofacial prosthesis and improving the esthetic. In the present research different lengths chopped and continuous of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber was added at selected percentage (0.0, 0.2% and 1%) to polymer blend composite (95%SR /5%PMMA: 0.2% Pomegranate Peels Powder (PPP)) for developing the properties of silicone rubber used for the maxillofacial prosthesis applications. Some mechanical and physical properties were done on the all prepared samples. The results showed that all properties have improved when add
... Show MoreResilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixin
... Show MoreBackground: elastomeric impression materials are indicated when a high degree of accuracy is required, due to their excellent properties like details reproduction, dimensional stability and tear strength but with main two disadvantages those are their hydrophilicity as well as the absence of antibacterial activity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of incorporation of 0.5% wt Ag-Zn zeolite into condensation silicone through the following tests; setting time, dimensional stability, reproduction of details, wettability, and hardness . Materials and methods: one hundred specimens were constructed of condensation silicone, divided into two groups for the first 50 specimens one0.5% by wt Ag -Zn zeolite was added, keeping the other fifty sp
... Show MoreBackground: The ideal maxillofacial prosthesis should have fine and thin boundaries that bindwith the surrounding facial structures and possess high tear strength.This study aims to determinethe best percentages of nanofiller (TiO2) and intrinsic pigment (silicone functional intrinsic) thatcould be mixed in as additives to improve the tear strength of Cosmesil M511 andVST50F siliconeelastomers with the least effect on their hardness.Materials and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, a total of 80 samples, 40 for eachelastomer, were fabricated. Each elastomer sample was split into two equal groups to test for tearstrength and Shore A hardness. Each group consisted of 20 samples, including 10 control sampleswithout additives and 10 e
... Show MorePolymer composites were prepared using epoxy resin (EP) and unsaturated polyester (UPE) as a blend matrices, which were mixed together in different percentages (starting from 90:10) of (epoxy/polyester) respectively, and ending with (50:50) of (epoxy/polyester). The optimum mixing ratio (OMR) of the components was decided upon the results of the impact strength value of these blending ratio, which showed the highest value of (16.3) KJ/m2 for the blending ratio (80:20) of (EP/UPE) respectively.
The blend with (OMR) was chosen to be reinforced with three different weight fractions of reinforcement; the 1st one was reinforced with nano titanium oxide (TiO2) with a weight fraction (2% wt.), the 2nd one was reinforced with both nano (TiO2)
The aim of this work is to evaluate some mechanical and physical
properties (i.e. the impact strength, hardness, flexural strength,
thermal conductivity and diffusion coefficient) of
(epoxy/polyurethane) blend reinforced with nano silica powder (2%
wt.). Hand lay-up technique was used to manufacture the composite
and a magnetic stirrer for blending the components. Results showed
that water had affected the bending flexural strength and hardness,
while impact strength increased and thermal conductivity decreased.
In addition to the above mentioned tests, the diffusion coefficient
was calculated using Fick’s 2nd law.