Journal: Nanomaterials

Article Title: Calcium Silicate-Based Biocompatible Light-Curable Dental Material for Dental Pulpal Complex

doi: 10.3390/nano11030596

Figure Lengend Snippet: Mechano-physical properties of nanoparticle-incorporated, light-curable MTA. ( A ) Vickers hardness measured in five spots per specimen and averaged (n = 10). Asterisks (*) indicate statistical significance between bright MTA and TheraCal LC at the same pH ( p < 0.05). Different letters indicate statistical significance between bright MTA and TheraCal LC at the same pH ( p < 0.05). This test attempted to simulate the actual clinical environment during inflammation. ( B ) Three-point flexural strength (n = 10). There was a statistical difference between bright MTA and TheraCal LC. The (#) symbol and asterisks (*) indicate bright MTA capping and TheraCal LC’s statistical significance based on the lowest value of micro-hardness (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01) (pH = 4). ( C ) Surface morphology of bright MTA and TheraCal LC immersed in SBF solution for seven days, as visualized by scanning electron microscopy (×10,000) (scale bar = 1 μm). The SBF solution can mimic the main features of blood serum; thus, using the SBF solution can test bioactivity. ( D ) XRD analysis of specimens immersed in SBF for seven days.

Article Snippet: The specimens were then polished using 1000-grit particle size sandpaper and positioned on a Vickers hardness machine (HM-211, Mitutoyo, Tokyo, Japan) to determine the hardness with 0.5 N (510 gf) for 20 s. The representative mean (n = 3) and standard deviation were calculated from three different locations on each specimen.

Techniques: Electron Microscopy