Melinda Szalóki

Preparation and application of highly porous aerogel-based bioactive materials in dentistry

In this study, the possibility of preparation and application of highly porous silica aerogel-based bioactive materials are presented. The aerogel was combined with hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate as bioactive and osteoinductive agents. The porosity of aerogels was in the mesoporous region with a maximum pore diameter of 7.4 and 12.7 nm for the composite materials. The newly developed bioactive materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The in vitro biological effect of these modified surfaces was also tested on SAOS-2 osteogenic sarcoma cells by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Green LED as an Effective Light Source for Curing Acrylate-Based Dental Resins in Combination with Irgacure 784

Low intensity green light emitting diodes (LED) were shown to be an effective light source to induce the photopolymerization of an acrylate-based photocurable dental restorative resin mixture of bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate (BisGMA), triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), and diurethane dimethacrylate (UDMA), in combination with fluorinated diaryl titanocene (Irgacure 784). Dental matrices were prepared by the LED light source at different intensities. The mechanical properties, such as Vickers microhardness, compressive strength, diametric tensile strength, flexural strength, and -modulus of the created samples, were investigated. The kinetics of the photopolymerization was followed by Raman spectroscopy and conversion values were determined. It was found that, despite its narrow-emission range centered at a wavelength of 531 nm, the green LED light source is suitable for the preparation of dental matrices with good mechanical properties and high conversion values.