properties of dental adhesives incorporated with boehmite nano-particles

The incorporation of boehmite nano-particles and its effects on the mechanical properties and bond strength of an experimental dental adhesive were studied.An adhesive solution containing ethanol, Bis-GMA, TMPTMA, HEMA and photo-initiator system (camphorquinone and DMAEMA) was prepared. Silanized boehmite nano-particles were incorporated into the adhesive in different concentrations of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 weight percentages. The suspensions were ultrasonocated to facilitate the nano-particle dispersion. Degree of conversion of the adhesive under visible light irradiation was determined using FT-IR spectroscopy. Depth of cure, diametral tensile strength, flexural strength, and micro-shear bond strength of the adhesives were measured. Scanning electron electron microscopy was utilized to observe the fracture surface topography. The results were compared using one-way ANOVAand Tukey posthoc test at the significance level of 0.05. The results indicated that the diametral tensile strength, flexural strength, and micro-shear bond strength increased at nano-particle contents of 0.2-0.5 wt.% and beyond this range  there was a declining trend (p