Journal of

Dental Research, Dental Clinics, Dental Prospects

Original Article

In Vitro Comparison of Compressive and Tensile Strengths of

Acrylic Resins Reinforced by Silver Nanoparticles at 2% and
0.2% Concentrations
Tahereh Ghaffari1,2 • Fahimeh Hamedirad2 • Baharak Ezzati1,3*
1
Dental and Periodontal Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3
Post-graduate Student, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
*Corresponding Author; E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 29 June 2013; Accepted: 8 December 2013

J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospect 2014; 8(4):204-209 | doi: 10.5681/joddd.2014.037
This article is available from: http://dentistry.tbzmed.ac.ir/joddd

© 2014 The Authors; Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
Background and aims. Polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA, is widely used in prosthodontics for fabrication of removable
prostheses. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of adding silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to PMMA at 2% and
0.2% concentrations on compressive and tensile strengths of PMMA.
Materials and methods. The silver nanoparticles were mixed with heat-cured acrylic resin in an amalgamator in two
groups at 0.2 and 2 wt% of AgNPs. Eighteen 2×20×200-mm samples were prepared for tensile strength test, 12 samples
containing silver nanoparticle and 6 samples for the control group. Another 18 cylindrical 25×38-mm samples were pre-
pared for compressive strength test. Scanning electron microscopy was used to verify homogeneous distribution of particles.
The powder was manually mixed with a resin monomer and then the mixture was properly blended. Before curing, the paste
was packed into steel molds. After curing, the specimens were removed from the molds. One-way ANOVA was used for
statistical analysis, followed by multiple comparison test (Scheffé’s test).
Results. This study showed that the mean compressive strength of PMMA reinforced with AgNPs was significantly higher
than that of the unmodified PMMA (P<0.05). It was not statistically different between the two groups reinforced with
AgNPs. The tensile strength was not significantly different between the 0.2% group and unmodified PMMA and it de-
creased significantly after incorporation of 2% AgNPs (P<0.05).
Conclusion. Based on the results and the desirable effect of nanoparticles of silver on improvement of compressive
strength of PMMA, use of this material with proper concentration in the palatal area of maxillary acrylic resin dentures is
recommended.
Key words: Polymethyl methacrylate, compressive strength, tensile strength, acrylic resin, silver nanoparticles.

JODDD, Vol. 8, No. 4 Autumn 2014

 Acrylic Resins Reinforced by Silver Nanoparticles 205

Introduction der to the resin improved its thermal conductivity,

polymerization shrinkage and water sorption.14
enture bases can be fabricated using various
D materials, including metals and heat-cured
acrylic resins. Metal denture base is not preferred
The antimicrobial properties of silver, especially
when the nanoparticles are added to the denture have
been reported in several studies.15-17 Chladek and
due to several disadvantages, including lack of reten-
colleagues showed that silver nanoparticles inhibit
tion because of heavy denture, poor esthetic features,
the fungus Candida albicans growth and adding this
cost, difficulty in tissue replacement in severely re-
material to the dentures could reduce oral diseases
sorbed alveolar ridge and inability to reline.1 Acrylic
among edentulous patients.15 The antibacterial effect
resins have been used widely because of their good
of silver is even more noticeable when used as nano-
esthetics and favorable characteristics such as easy
particles.17
handling and biocompatibility.2 These materials ac-
Silver particles have been used as an addition to
count for approximately 95% of the denture base
acrylic resin in order to improve its mechanical
materials used in prosthodontics. The majority of
properties.3,18 Although adding 25% silver powder to
prosthetic acrylic resins consist of PMMA, polyethyl
denture base increases its thermal conductivity more
methacrylate (PEMA), and additional copolymers.
than 4 times, it results in a significant decrease in the
Polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA, is commonly used
mechanical properties of acrylic resin, making den-
in dentistry for different purposes such as trial base
ture more susceptible to breaking by an impact.14
plates, orthodontic functional appliances and denture
In the past, micrometer-sized particles were used to
bases.3
improve the resin characteristics; however, these par-
PMMA is the most popular denture base material
ticles presented several drawbacks. Regarding ad-
currently available.4 Almost all the dentures are fab-
vances in nanotechnology sciences and benefits of
ricated with this type of polymer.4 Although the
adding silver nanoparticles to the acrylic base, which
characteristics of this material are not ideal in every
leads to better processing and smoother surface
aspect, it has many desirable features that make it
compared to micrometer-sized silver powder, the use
very favorable. Acrylic resins have excellent esthetic
of silver nanoparticles is preferred. Among various
properties, sufficient strength, low water sorption,
nanofillers available the silver nanoparticles are the
low solubility, and biocompatibility. They are very
most widely used nanoparticles because of their duc-
accurate in reproducing surface detail and can be
tility, electrical and thermal conductivity and antim-
easily repaired. Nevertheless, few but important
icrobial activity.19-22 On the other hand, resin discol-
drawbacks are inherent in this resin, such as low
oration and high cost can limit its use. The present
thermal conductivity, high coefficient of thermal ex-
study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the ad-
pansion that causes internal stresses to be released
dition of silver nanoparticles at 2 and 0.2 wt% con-
during the process resulting in dimensional inaccu-
centrations on compressive and tensile strengths of
racy and relatively low modulus of elasticity which
acrylic base.
causes its rapid deformation at low stresses.4 As
stated, acrylic resins have been successful as denture
Materials and Methods
base because of their ease of processing, low cost,
low weight and color matching ability,5 but acrylic In this research polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA;
resins are considerably brittle.6,7 SR Triplex Hot, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein,
Many efforts have been made to overcome its Germany) as a heat-curing acrylic resin and silver
drawbacks. Chemical modification of internal struc- nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a diameter of <35 nm
ture of polymer can be used to improve its proper- (Model number: SP – A00601, Top Nano Technol-
ties.8 ogy Co., Ltd., Iran) were used. AgNPs in two con-
PMMA can be reinforced with various types of fi- centration groups at 0.2 and 2 wt% were mixed with
bers and fillers to improve its properties.9,10 Carbon heat-curing acrylic resin. These two concentrations
fibers have been added to dental acrylic resin to im- were determined based on a pilot study which re-
prove its fatigue behavior and impact strength.11 Fur- vealed that addition of less than 2% AgNPs to the
thermore, polyethylene fibers have been suggested to acrylic resin will increase compressive strength with
enhance the physical properties of acrylic resins.12,13 no decrease in tensile strength. For best distribution,
Reinforcement with metal fillers such as silver and the mixing procedure was carried out in an amalga-
aluminum powder improved some physical and me- mator (Dentine, Esfahan, Iran) for 20 minutes. Mix-
chanical properties of acrylic resin while addition of ing of AgNPs was manually carried out with a resin
silver, copper, and/or aluminum in the form of pow- monomer and then the mixture was thoroughly

JODDD, Vol. 8, No. 4 Autumn 2014

206 Ghaffari et al.

blended. After complete mixing before curing, the applied at a crosshead speed of 5 mm/min. The max-
paste was packed into steel molds and then the spe- imum tensile strength (MPa) was measured at the
cimens were removed from the molds after curing. sample fracture point.
All the samples were polished to 400-grit emery pa- The strengths were measured according to the fol-
per (grades 320, 500, 800, Nippon Coated Abrasive, lowing formula:
Aichi, Japan) to remove excess acrylic resin. Strength (MPa) =load (N)/cross sectional area
Sample size was determined according to pilot (mm2)
study results and 18 specimens for each test (com- Mean, average, and mode in each group were cal-
pressive and tensile strength) and a total of 36 spe- culated and normal distribution curve was evaluated.
cimens were prepared. Specimens of each test were One-way ANOVA, followed by multiple comparison
divided into 3 groups as follows: test (Scheffé’s test), was used for statistical analysis.
Group A: 6 specimens of pure acrylic resin were Statistical significance was set at P<0.05.
used as the control group.
Group B: 6 specimens of PMMA were mixed with Results
0.2 wt% of AgNPs. The morphology of the samples in cross-section and
Group C: 6 specimens of PMMA were mixed with Ag map of two samples with different contents of
2 wt% of AgNPs. AgNPs are shown in Figures 1a and 1b. As shown,
Compressive strength measurement apparatus (100 the sample with 0.2 wt% of AgNPs has a better dis-
(kN) cell load capacity, Alfred J Amsler & Co, Ger- tribution compared to the sample with 2 wt% of
many) and universal tensile strength measurement AgNPs. These figures show that an increase in
apparatus (20 (kN) cell load capacity, Zwick Z100, AgNPs caused aggregation of nanoparticles in the
Germany) were used to determine compressive and sample by extra content, resulting in changes in the
tensile strengths of the samples. Based on ASTM D fractured surface.
695-02a (ISO 604) standard recommended by the One-way ANOVA results presented in Table 1 il-
measurement device manufacturer, eighteen com- lustrate significant differences in compressive
pressive strength test samples were prepared. The strength of the groups. Multiple comparison test
specimens were formed in cylinders with dimensions (Scheffé’s test) results for compressive strengths in
of 25×38 mm with a metal mold. Another eighteen various groups showed that acrylic resin at 0.2% and
specimens were prepared for tensile test with rectan- 2% AgNPs concentrations had a significantly higher
gular cubic shape, measuring 2×20×200 mm in size compressive strength compared with the control
according ASTM D638-10 (ISO 527) recommended group (P<0.05), but the strength difference between
by the manufacturer. All the samples were measured the groups containing 0.2% and 2% AgNPs was not
by a digital caliper (Guanglu, Strikhlu, Germany)
and an error of ±0.03 mm was considered insignifi-
cant.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM,
VEGA/TESCAN, Czech Republic) was used to
study distribution of nanoparticles and the cross-
sectional morphology of the samples (Figure 1).
The specimens were conditioned in the standard la-
boratory environment for 24 hours before perform-
ing the tests (temperature=23±2°C, humid-
ity=50±5%).
Compressive strength test samples were placed in
the measuring apparatus in an appropriate manner
and cross-sectional area of each sample (mm2) was
determined. A compressive load (N) was applied at a
crosshead speed of 1.3 mm/min. The compressive
strength (MPa) was measured at the sample fracture
point.
Tensile strength test samples were fixated in the
measuring apparatus and cross-sectional area of each
sample (mm2) was described. A tensile load (N) was Figure 1. Scanning electron micrograph and Ag map
of: a) 0.2% AgNPs; b) 2% AgNPs.

JODDD, Vol. 8, No. 4 Autumn 2014

 Acrylic Resins Reinforced by Silver Nanoparticles 207

Table1. Means and standard deviations of compressive strengths for the groups tested (in MPa)
95% confidence interval for mean ANOVA
Group N Mean ± SD Lower bound Upper bound Minimum Maximum f P
A (control) 6 99.5 ± 3.44 95.879 103.120 95.00 105.00 14.32 .001
B (0.2%) 6 114 ± 5.95 106.601 121.398 104.0 119.00
C (2%) 6 118.4 ± 10.29 107.733 129.066 104.0 125.00

significant (P>0.05). The comparisons of compres- Figure 4 shows stress/strain diagram of tested sam-
sive strength results of all the groups are shown in ples for various groups at maximum value. The re-
Figure 2. sults showed that adding AgNPs to acrylic resin de-
The mean, standard deviation, and minimum and creased elongation of samples and reduced modulus
maximum stress values of tensile strengths for each of toughness. Pure acrylic resins have the highest
experimental group are presented in Table 2. One- modulus of elasticity (tangent of curve in the linear
way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant dif- portion) and fracture toughness (area under the
ference between the mean values (P<0.05). Scheffé’s curve).
test showed no significant differences between the
test group with 0.2% AgNPs and the control group Discussion
(P>0.05). On the other hand, there was a statistically This study was conducted to test the effects of
significant difference between the test group with AgNPs on mechanical properties of the final acrylic
2% AgNPs and the control group (P<0.05). In other product. In this study two types of mechanical prop-
words, the tensile strength significantly decreased in erties, i.e. compressive and tensile strengths of acryl-
2% AgNPs test group in comparison with the control ic resin, were studied. In recent years AgNPs have
group. There were no significant differences between been largely investigated because of their antimicro-
the test groups (P>0.05). The comparisons of tensile bial activity. In particular, AgNPs are now consid-
strength results of all the groups are shown in Figure ered antibacterial agents due to inhibition of oral
3. pathogens and have been used in various applica-
tions.20,23 There are many reports about dependence
of acrylic resin’s properties on nanoparticle concen-
trations.24-29 Selection of silver as filler in this study
was based on properties of this filler. The first reason
is the high thermal conductivity of silver, which can
improve the thermal conductivity of the denture. In
addition, it has been demonstrated that silver not on-
ly has no adverse effects in the oral cavity,30 but also
it can reduce the adhesion Candidate albicans and
has anti-microbial effects.15-17 In addition, some stud-
ies have revealed that AgNPS can improve the me-
chanical properties of acrylic resin.3,18 Low concen-
Figure 2. Comparison of compressive strengths of spe- tration of silver would reduce material costs and less
cimens. monomer would be needed while mixing with acryl-
ic powder. Therefore, the mechanical properties of

Figure 3. Comparison of tensile strengths of speci- Figure 4. Stress/strain diagram of samples at maxi-
mens. mum value.

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208 Ghaffari et al.

Table 2. Means and standard deviations of tensile strengths for the groups tested (in MPa)
95% confidence interval for
ANOVA
Group mean
N Mean ± SD Lower bound Upper bound Minimum Maximum f P

A (control) 6 48.41 ± 4.85 43.318 53.518 39.62 53.71

6.181 .011
B (0.2%) 6 41.31 ± 6.88 34.085 48.534 31.95 52.64
C (2%) 6 37.12 ± 4.89 31.983 42.259 30.82 44.29

the final polymer would not be compromised.31,32 strength and low tensile strength.34 It can be con-
Chladek et al reported that the mechanical and phys- cluded from these findings that AgNPs in high con-
ical properties of the composite are influenced by centration result in agglomeration sites, which func-
silver nanoparticle concentration. They also showed tion as impurities and decrease tensile strength.
that mechanical properties of composites decreased Another disadvantage of metallic fillers in acrylic
by increasing silver nanoparticles.18 It has been dem- resin is color change which is important in esthetic
onstrated that addition of more than 5 wt% of the areas. AgNPs also caused some black discoloration
metal fillers into acrylic resin would reduce tensile in the acrylic resin, limiting its application in the ap-
strength.14 pearance zone. However, we can apply low concen-
According to the results, AgNPs with 0.2 and 2 wt% trations of silver nanoparticles to the palatal area of
increased the compressive strength of acrylic resins, the denture, which is exposed to the highest stresses
but increasing AgNPs concentration from 0.2 wt% to of mastication.
2 wt% did not improve compressive strength of The results of this article were based on an “in vitro”
acrylic resin significantly. The acrylic resin is a brit- study; so future “in vivo” studies can be conducted
tle material but at compressive conditions behaves to evaluate the effects of these changes in dentures
like ductile materials.33 on clinical performance and patient satisfaction.
Tensile strength results showed different behavior
patterns and incorporation of AgNPs decreased ten- Conclusions
sile strength in both groups containing AgNPs. De- This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of
crease in tensile strength was not significant by addi- adding AgNPs to PMMA with two different weight
tion of 0.2 wt% AgNPs, whereas high concentrations percentages on two properties of acrylic resin.
of 2 wt% AgNPs exhibited significantly low tensile The two tested properties were compressive and ten-
strength. These findings are consistent with previous sile strengths. The results showed that the effect of
studies.3,18 AgNPs acts as impurities and tensile AgNPs significantly depends on its concentration.
strength would decrease by increasing their content. Based on the results adding AgNPs with proper con-
Dispersion of nanoparticles in acrylic PMMA matrix centrations to PMMA can improve its mechanical
decreases the reaction of monomers and increases characteristics without any adverse effects and is
the amount of unreacted monomer, behaving like a strongly recommended in the palatal portion of
plasticizer.29 This shows the importance of the addi- acrylic base of complete maxillary dentures.
tive content of nanoparticles. Because adding AgNPs by 2 wt% decreased the ten-
As the Ag mapping results showed increasing sile strength of acrylic resin, this study was per-
AgNPs content resulted in agglomeration of these formed on different mixtures with various percent-
nanoparticles, increasing impurity action of nanopar- ages of AgNPs in order to determine the favorite
ticles. Impurities or particulate agglomerate com- weight percentage which is not associated with this
pounds act as stress concentration centers in the ma- disadvantage.
trix and unfavorably decrease mechanical properties
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