Droplet Self-Propulsion on Slippery Liquid-Infused Surfaces with Dual-Lubricant Wedge-Shaped Wettability Patterns.

Young's equation is fundamental to the concept of the wettability of a solid surface. It defines the contact angle for a droplet on a solid surface through a local equilibrium at the three-phase contact line. Recently, the concept of a liquid Young's law contact angle has been developed to describe the wettability of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) by droplets of an immiscible liquid. In this work, we present a new method to fabricate biphilic SLIP surfaces and show how the wettability of the composite SLIPS can be exploited with a macroscopic wedge-shaped pattern of two distinct lubricant liquids. In particular, we report the development of composite liquid surfaces on silicon substrates based on lithographically patterning a Teflon AF1600 coating and a superhydrophobic coating (Glaco Mirror Coat Zero), where the latter selectively dewets from the former. This creates a patterned base surface with preferential wetting to matched liquids: the fluoropolymer PTFE with a perfluorinated oil Krytox and the hydrophobic silica-based GLACO with olive oil (or other mineral oils or silicone oil). This allows us to successively imbibe our patterned solid substrates with two distinct oils and produce a composite liquid lubricant surface with the oils segregated as thin films into separate domains defined by the patterning. We illustrate that macroscopic wedge-shaped patterned SLIP surfaces enable low-friction droplet self-propulsion. Finally, we formulate an analytical model that captures the dependence of the droplet motion as a function of the wettability of the two liquid lubricant domains and the opening angle of the wedge. This allows us to derive scaling relationships between various physical and geometrical parameters. This work introduces a new approach to creating patterned liquid lubricant surfaces, demonstrates long-distance droplet self-propulsion on such surfaces, and sheds light on the interactions between liquid droplets and liquid surfaces.

Suppression of crystallization in saline drop evaporation on pinning-free surfaces.

For sessile droplets of pure liquid on a surface, evaporation depends on surface wettability, the surrounding environment, contact angle hysteresis, and surface roughness. For non-pure liquids, the evaporation characteristics are further complicated by the constituents and impurities within the droplet. For saline solutions, this complication takes the form of a modified partial vapor pressure/water activity caused by the increasing salt concentration as the aqueous solvent evaporates. It is generally thought that droplets on surfaces will crystallize when the saturation concentration is reached, i.e., 26.3% for NaCl in water. This crystallization is initiated by contact with the surface and is thus due to surface roughness and heterogeneities. Recently, smooth, low contact angle hysteresis surfaces have been created by molecular grafting of polymer chains. In this work, we hypothesize that by using these very smooth surfaces to evaporate saline droplets, we can suppress the crystallization caused by the surface interactions and thus achieve constant volume droplets above the saturation concentration. In our experiments, we used several different surfaces to examine the possibility of crystallization suppression. We show that on polymer grafted surfaces, i.e., Slippery Omniphobic Covalently Attached Liquid-like (SOCAL) and polyethyleneglycol(PEGylated) surfaces, we can achieve stable droplets as low as 55% relative humidity at 25 °C with high reproducibility using NaCl in water solutions. We also show that it is possible to achieve stable droplets above the saturation concentration on other surfaces, including superhydrophobic surfaces. We present an analytical model, based on water activity, which accurately describes the final stable volume as a function of the initial salt concentration. These findings are important for heat and mass transfer in relatively low humidity environments.

Development of Proanthocyanidin-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Improving Dental Adhesion.

Dentin biomodification is a promising approach to enhance dental tissue biomechanics and biostability for restorative and reparative therapies. One of the most active dentin tissue biomodifiers is proanthocyanidin (PAC)-rich natural extracts, which are used in the dental bonding procedure in combination with resin-based adhesives (RBAs). This study aimed to investigate the use of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) for the sustained delivery of PACs for dentin biomodification as a novel drug-delivery system for dental applications. The effects of the incorporation of MSN functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and loaded with PAC into an experimental RBA were assessed by characterizing the material mechanical properties. In addition, the immediate and long-term bonding performance of an experimental resin-based primer (RBP) containing MSN-APTES loaded with PAC was also evaluated. For that, different formulations of RBA and RBP were prepared containing 20% w/v MSN-APTES loaded with PAC before or after functionalization (MSN-PAC-APTES and MSN-APTES-PAC, respectively). The incorporation of MSN-APTES-PAC did not negatively impact the degree of conversion or the overall mechanical properties of the RBA. However, adding MSN-PAC-APTES resulted in inferior mechanical properties of the experimental RBA. In the adhesion studies, APTES-functionalized MSN was successfully added to an experimental RBP for drug-delivery purposes without compromising the bond strength to the dentin or the failure mode. Interestingly, the sequence of surface functionalization with APTES resulted in differences in the bonding performance, with better long-term results for RBP containing MSN loaded with PAC after functionalization.

The Liquid Young's Law on SLIPS: Liquid-Liquid Interfacial Tensions and Zisman Plots.

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) are an innovation that reduces droplet-solid contact line pinning and interfacial friction. Recently, it has been shown that a liquid analogue of Young's law can be deduced for the apparent contact angle of a sessile droplet on SLIPS despite there never being contact by the droplet with the underlying solid. Since contact angles on solids are used to characterize solid-liquid interfacial interactions and the wetting of a solid by a liquid, it is our hypothesis that liquid-liquid interactions and the wetting of a liquid surface by a liquid can be characterized by apparent contact angles on SLIPS. Here, we first present a theory for deducing liquid-liquid interfacial tensions from apparent contact angles. This theory is valid irrespective of whether or not a film of the infusing liquid cloaks the droplet-vapor interface. We show experimentally that liquid-liquid interfacial tensions deduced from apparent contact angles of droplets on SLIPS are in excellent agreement with values from the traditional pendant drop technique. We then consider whether the Zisman method for characterizing the wettability of a solid surface can be applied to liquid surfaces created using SLIPS. We report apparent contact angles for a homologous series of alkanes on Krytox-infused SLIPS and for water-IPA mixtures on both the Krytox-infused SLIPS and a silicone oil-infused SLIPS. The alkanes on the Krytox-infused SLIPS follow a linear relationship in the liquid form of the Zisman plot provided that the effective droplet-vapor interfacial tension is used. All three systems follow a linear relationship on a modified Zisman plot. We interpret these results using the concept of the critical surface tension (CST) for the wettability of a solid surface introduced by Zisman. In our liquid surface case, the obtained critical surface tensions were found to be lower than the infusing liquid-vapor surface tensions.

Effect of Ageing on the Structure and Properties of Model Liquid-Infused Surfaces.

Liquid-infused surfaces (LISs) exhibit unique properties that make them ideal candidates for a wide range of applications, from antifouling and anti-icing coatings to self-healing surfaces and controlled wetting. However, when exposed to realistic environmental conditions, LISs tend to age and progressively lose their desirable properties, potentially compromising their application. The associated ageing mechanisms are still poorly understood, and results reflecting real-life applications are scarce. Here, we track the ageing of a model LIS composed of glass surfaces functionalized with hydrophobic nanoparticles and infused with silicone oil. The LISs are fully submerged in aqueous solutions and exposed to acoustic pressure waves for set time intervals. The ageing is monitored by periodic measurements of the LIS's wetting properties. We also track the changes to the LIS's nanoscale structure. We find that the LISs rapidly lose their slippery properties because of a combination of oil loss, smoothing of the nanoporous functional layer, and substrate degradation when directly exposed to the solution. The oil loss is consistent with water microdroplets entering the oil layer and displacing oil away from the surface. These mechanisms are general and could play a role in the ageing of most LISs.

Contact-Angle Hysteresis and Contact-Line Friction on Slippery Liquid-like Surfaces.

Contact-line pinning and dynamic friction are fundamental forces that oppose the motion of droplets on solid surfaces. Everyday experience suggests that if a solid surface offers low contact-line pinning, it will also impart a relatively low dynamic friction to a moving droplet. Examples of such surfaces are superhydrophobic, slippery porous liquid-infused, and lubricant-impregnated surfaces. Here, however, we show that slippery omniphobic covalently attached liquid-like (SOCAL) surfaces have a remarkable combination of contact-angle hysteresis and contact-line friction properties, which lead to very low droplet pinning but high dynamic friction against the motion of droplets. We present experiments of the response of water droplets to changes in volume at controlled temperature and humidity conditions, which we separately compare to the predictions of a hydrodynamic model and a contact-line model based on molecular kinetic theory. Our results show that SOCAL surfaces offer very low contact-angle hysteresis, between 1 and 3°, but an unexpectedly high dynamic friction controlled by the contact line, where the typical relaxation time scale is on the order of seconds, 4 orders of magnitude larger than the prediction of the classical hydrodynamic model. Our results highlight the remarkable wettability of SOCAL surfaces and their potential application as low-pinning, slow droplet shedding surfaces.

Marginal adaptation and internal indentation resistance of a Class II bulk-fill resin-based composite.

PURPOSE: To compare the dentin bonded external marginal integrity and the internal surface indentation hardness of bulk-fill and conventional resin-based composite (RBC) placed in both bulk and increments. METHODS: 120 MO and DO cavities were prepared in 60 extracted human third molars. The teeth were randomly divided into four groups of 15 teeth per group to be restored as follows: BB (bulk-fill RBC, placed in a 4 mm bulk increment), BL (bulk-fill RBC, placed in 2 mm incremental layers), CB (conventional RBC, placed in a 4 mm bulk increment), and CL (conventional RBC, placed in 2 mm incremental layers). Marginal gaps were measured at mesial and distal dentin gingival cavosurfaces of each tooth using scanning electron microscopy of epoxy resin replicas and Knoop hardness (KHN) was measured at three different RBC depths (1.8, 2.8 and 3.8 mm). Statistical analyses included one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey's HSD, and paired-sample t-test or a nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test, as appropriate. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of RBC restoration type on external marginal gap at the distal surface or at the mesial surface among the four groups tested (P> 0.05 in each instance), while no significant difference in external marginal gap was found between the mesial and distal surfaces within groups (P> 0.05 in each instance). The mean RBC internal surface KHN at 1.8 mm depth was significantly greater than at 2.8 mm and 3.8 mm depths in all tested groups (P< 0.05 for all instances), with a similar mean internal hardness between all groups. The bulk-fill RBC restorations demonstrated similar marginal gap formation and Knoop hardness to conventional universal RBC restorations under the conditions of this study. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Bulk-fill resin-based composite (RBC), from the perspective of marginal adaptation and internal hardness, may be a suitable alternative to conventional RBC.

Pinning-Free Evaporation of Sessile Droplets of Water from Solid Surfaces.

Contact-line pinning is a fundamental limitation to the motion of contact lines of liquids on solid surfaces. When a sessile droplet evaporates, contact-line pinning typically results in either a stick-slip evaporation mode, where the contact line pins and depins from the surface in an uncontrolled manner, or a constant contact-area mode with a pinned contact line. Pinning prevents the observation of the quasi-equilibrium constant contact-angle mode of evaporation, which has never been observed for sessile droplets of water directly resting on a smooth, nontextured, solid surface. Here, we report the evaporation of a sessile droplet from a flat glass substrate treated with a smooth, slippery, omni-phobic covalently attached liquid-like coating. Our characterization of the surfaces shows high contact line mobility with an extremely low contact-angle hysteresis of ∼1° and reveals a step change in the value of the contact angle from 101° to 105° between a relative humidity (RH) of 30 and 40%, in a manner reminiscent of the transition observed in a type V adsorption isotherm. We observe the evaporation of small sessile droplets in a chamber held at a constant temperature, T = (25.0 ± 0.1) °C and at constant RH across the range RH = 10-70%. In all cases, a constant contact-angle mode of evaporation is observed for most of the evaporation time. Furthermore, we analyze the evaporation sequences using the Picknett and Bexon ideal constant contact-angle mode for diffusion-limited evaporation. The resulting estimate for the diffusion coefficient, DE, of water vapor in air of DE = (2.44 ± 0.48) × 10-5 m2 s-1 is accurate to within 2% of the value reported in the literature, thus validating the constant contact-angle mode of the diffusion-limited evaporation model.

In vitro evaluation of the marginal integrity of CAD/CAM interim crowns.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The accuracy of interim crowns made with computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems has not been well investigated. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the marginal integrity of interim crowns made by CAD/CAM compared with that of conventional polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) crowns. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A dentoform mandibular left second premolar was prepared for a ceramic crown and scanned for the fabrication of 60 stereolithical resin dies, half of which were scanned to fabricate 15 Telio CAD-CEREC and 15 Paradigm MZ100-E4D-E4D crowns. Fifteen Caulk and 15 Jet interim crowns were made on the remaining resin dies. All crowns were cemented with Tempgrip under a 17.8-N load, thermocycled for 1000 cycles, placed in 0.5% acid fuschin for 24 hours, and embedded in epoxy resin before sectioning from the mid-buccal to mid-lingual surface. The marginal discrepancy was measured using a traveling microscope, and dye penetration was measured as a percentage of the overall length under the crown. RESULTS: The mean vertical marginal discrepancy of the conventionally made interim crowns was greater than for the CAD/CAM crowns (P=.006), while no difference was found for the horizontal component (P=.276). The mean vertical marginal discrepancy at the facial surface of the Caulk crowns was significantly greater than that of the other 3 types of interim crowns (P<.001). At the facial margin, the mean horizontal component of the Telio crowns was significantly larger than that of the other 3 types, with no difference at the lingual margins (P=.150). The mean percentage dye penetration for the Paradigm MZ100-E4D crowns was significantly greater and for Jet crowns significantly smaller than for the other 3 crowns (P<.001). However, the mean percentage dye penetration was significantly correlated with the vertical and horizontal marginal discrepancies of the Jet interim crowns at the facial surface and with the horizontal marginal discrepancies of the Caulk interim crowns at the lingual surface (P<.01 in each instance). CONCLUSIONS: A significantly smaller vertical marginal discrepancy was found with the interim crowns fabricated by CAD/CAM as compared with PMMA crowns; however, this difference was not observed for the horizontal component. The percentage dye penetration was correlated with vertical and horizontal discrepancies at the facial surface for the Jet interim crowns and with horizontal discrepancies at the lingual surface for the Caulk interim crowns.

Ethanol-wet bonding and chlorhexidine improve resin-dentin bond durability: quantitative analysis using raman spectroscopy.

PURPOSE: To directly test the effectiveness of ethanol-wet bonding (EW) in improving monomer infiltration into demineralized dentin through quantitative measurement of bis-GMA and TEG-DMA molar concentrations within hybrid layers, and to comprehensively evaluate the effect of EW and chlorhexidine on durability of resin-dentin bonds compared to conventional water-wet bonding (WW). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A three-step etch-and-rinse adhesive (70% bis-GMA/28.75%TEG-DMA) was applied to coronal dentin using a clinically relevant ethanol-wet bonding protocol (EW) or the conventional water-wet bonding (WW) technique. Bis-GMA and TEG-DMA molar concentrations at various positions across the resin/dentin interfaces formed by EW and WW were measured using micro-Raman spectroscopy. The experiment was repeated at the same positions after 7-month storage in phosphate buffer solution containing 0.1% sodium azide. The µTBS and hybrid layer morphology (TEM) of bonding groups with and without chlorhexidine application were compared immediately and after 1-year storage in terms of nanoleakage, collagen fibril diameter, collagen interfibrillar width, and hybrid layer thickness. RESULTS: Specimens bonded with EW showed significantly higher monomer molar concentrations and µTBS throughout the hybrid layer immediately and after storage, providing direct evidence of superior infiltration of hydrophobic monomers in EW compared to WW. Microscopically, EW maintained interfibrillar width and hybrid layer thickness for resin infiltration and retention. The application of chlorhexidine further preserved collagen integrity and limited the degree of nanoleakage in EW after 1-year storage. CONCLUSION: EW enhances infiltration of hydrophobic monomers into demineralized dentin. The results suggest that a more durable resin-dentin bond may be achieved with combined usage of a clinically relevant EW and chlorhexidine.

Comparison of Adhesion Performance of a Self-curing and a Light-curing Universal Adhesive to Various Dental Substrates and CAD/CAM Materials.

PURPOSE: To compare the adhesion of a self-curing (Tokuyama Universal Bond, TUB) and a light-curing (Scotchbond Universal, SBU) universal adhesive to CAD/CAM materials, enamel, and dentin. This study also assessed differences in enamel adhesion between self-etch vs selective etching modes, as well as immediate and long-term adhesion to dentin for both adhesives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Shear bond strength (SBS) testing was used to assess adhesion to enamel, dentin, Lava Ultimate (LU), Vita Enamic (VE), IPS e.max CAD (LD), IPS e.max ZirCAD (3Y-Zir), and Lava Esthetic (5Y-Zir) (n = 10). Moreover, bonding to enamel in self-etch and selective etching modes (n = 10) as well as immediate and aged resin-dentin bond strength (24 h after bonding, after 100,000 thermal cycles [TC] and long-term storage) was evaluated using the microtensile bond-strength test (n = 30). Failure mode was also determined for the bonding to dentin. Statistical analyses consisted of one-way and two-way ANOVA with appropriate post-hoc Tukey-Kramer or two-sample t-tests, as well as the chi-squared or Fisher's exact test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: TUB and SBU universal adhesives presented similar bonding to LU, VE, 3Y-Zir, and 5Y-Zir. However, SBS for TUB was superior to SBU when bonding to lithium-disilicate glass-ceramic (IPS e.max CAD). SBU showed better adhesion to dentin and enamel when used in the self-etch mode, while TUB promoted strong bond strength to enamel in the selective etching mode. TUB after TC was the only aging condition that yielded a significant reduction in resin-dentin bond strength. CONCLUSION: In-vitro adhesion performance of the self-curing and light-curing universal adhesives varies depending on the dental substrate or CAD/CAM restorative material used for bonding.

Tuning contact line dynamics on slippery silicone oil grafted surfaces for sessile droplet evaporation.

Controlling the dynamics of droplet evaporation is critical to numerous fundamental and industrial applications. The three main modes of evaporation so far reported on smooth surfaces are the constant contact radius (CCR), constant contact angle (CCA), and mixed mode. Previously reported methods for controlling droplet evaporation include chemical or physical modifications of the surfaces via surface coating. These often require complex multiple stage processing, which eventually enables similar droplet-surface interactions. By leveraging the change in the physicochemical properties of the outermost surface by different silicone oil grafting fabrication parameters, the evaporation dynamics and the duration of the different evaporation modes can be controlled. After grafting one layer of oil, the intrinsic hydrophilic silicon surface (contact angle (CA) ≈ 60°) is transformed into a hydrophobic surface (CA ≈ 108°) with low contact angle hysteresis (CAH). The CAH can be tuned between 1° and 20° depending on the fabrication parameters such as oil viscosity, volume, deposition method as well as the number of layers, which in turn control the duration of the different evaporation modes. In addition, the occurrence and strength of stick-slip behaviour during evaporation can be additionally controlled by the silicone oil grafting procedure adopted. These findings provide guidelines for controlling the droplet-surface interactions by either minimizing or maximising contact line initial pinning, stick-slip and/or constant contact angle modes of evaporation. We conclude that the simple and scalable silicone oil grafted coatings reported here provide similar functionalities to slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs), quasi-liquid surfaces (QLS), and/or slippery omniphobic covalently attached liquid (SOCAL) surfaces, by empowering pinning-free surfaces, and have great potential for use in self-cleaning surfaces or uniform particle deposition.

The influence of leader-follower cognitive style congruence on organizational citizenship behaviors and the mediating role of trust.

This study examined the impact of cognitive style congruence between leaders and followers on followers' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) by integrating the similarity-attraction and signaling theories. We collected dyadic data from 80 leaders and 223 followers in ten manufacturing companies in China. Using polynomial regression analysis and response surface modeling, the study supported the positive influence of cognitive style congruence on followers' OCBs. Specifically, we found that dyads with more intuitive than analytical leader-follower cognitive styles had higher levels of OCBs. However, there were no significant differences in followers' OCBs between dyads consisting of an intuitive leader and an analytic follower versus those consisting of an analytic leader and an intuitive follower under conditions of cognitive style incongruence. Additionally, the study found that interpersonal trust mediated the relationship between leader-follower cognitive style congruence and followers' OCBs, offering valuable insights for promoting OCBs in the workplace.

Effect of gamma radiation on bonding to human enamel and dentin.

PURPOSES: This study evaluated the effect of gamma radiation on the microtensile bond strength of resin-based composite restoration to human enamel and dentin performed either before or after radiotherapy. METHODS: Thirty sound human third molars were sectioned mesio-distally into buccal and lingual halves and then randomly divided into enamel or dentin groups. Enamel and dentin substrates were randomly divided into three sub-groups (n = 10): Control, which received no irradiation; specimens were irradiated before restoration protocol; and specimens were irradiated after restoration protocol. Radiation therapy was defined by application of 60-Gy dose fractionally with daily exposures of 2 Gy, 5 days a week, over 6 weeks. Restorations were carried out using Adper Single Bond adhesive system and Filtek Z250 resin composite. The specimens were sectioned producing 4 sticks per specimen and submitted to microtensile on a testing machine. Data were submitted to two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test (p < 0.05). Failure modes were examined under optical microscopy and SEM. RESULTS: Bond strength to enamel was significantly higher than to dentin irrespective radiation therapy. Radiotherapy applied before restoration significantly reduced the bond strength to both substrates. A predominance of adhesive failures was detected for control groups and groups restored before radiotherapy. Cohesive failures in dentin and enamel increased when the specimens were restored after irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: The gamma radiation had a significant detrimental effect on bond strength to human enamel and dentin when the adhesive restorative procedure was carried out after radiotherapy.

Slippery Liquid-Like Solid Surfaces with Promising Antibiofilm Performance under Both Static and Flow Conditions.

Biofilms are central to some of the most urgent global challenges across diverse fields of application, from medicine to industries to the environment, and exert considerable economic and social impact. A fundamental assumption in anti-biofilms has been that the coating on a substrate surface is solid. The invention of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces─a continuously wet lubricating coating retained on a solid surface by capillary forces─has led to this being challenged. However, in situations where flow occurs, shear stress may deplete the lubricant and affect the anti-biofilm performance. Here, we report on the use of slippery omniphobic covalently attached liquid (SOCAL) surfaces, which provide a surface coating with short (ca. 4 nm) non-cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chains retaining liquid-surface properties, as an antibiofilm strategy stable under shear stress from flow. This surface reduced biofilm formation of the key biofilm-forming pathogens Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by three-four orders of magnitude compared to the widely used medical implant material PDMS after 7 days under static and dynamic culture conditions. Throughout the entire dynamic culture period of P. aeruginosa, SOCAL significantly outperformed a typical antibiofilm slippery surface [i.e., swollen PDMS in silicone oil (S-PDMS)]. We have revealed that significant oil loss occurred after 2-7 day flow for S-PDMS, which correlated to increased contact angle hysteresis (CAH), indicating a degradation of the slippery surface properties, and biofilm formation, while SOCAL has stable CAH and sustainable antibiofilm performance after 7 day flow. The significance of this correlation is to provide a useful easy-to-measure physical parameter as an indicator for long-term antibiofilm performance. This biofilm-resistant liquid-like solid surface offers a new antibiofilm strategy for applications in medical devices and other areas where biofilm development is problematic.

The Influence of Leader-Follower Cognitive Style Similarity on Followers' Organizational Citizenship Behaviors.

While cognitive style congruence has been highlighted as a potentially important variable influencing performance outcomes in work-related contexts, studies of its influence are scarce. This paper examines the influence of leader-follower cognitive style similarity on followers' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Data from 430 leader-follower dyads were analyzed using polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Results demonstrate that congruence of leader/follower cognitive style is a predictor of follower OCBs. Organizations may therefore benefit from considering issues of similarity of cognitive styles in their attempts to develop effective leader-follower partnerships leading to increased OCBs and concomitant improvements in both individual and organizational level success.

Finite element analysis and bond strength of a glass post to intraradicular dentin: comparison between microtensile and push-out tests.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested the hypothesis that the stress distribution and bond strength of glass posts to intraradicular dentin is influenced by the mechanical testing methodology. METHODS: Thirty single rooted endodontically treated teeth were prepared for luting of tapered fiber-glass posts (Reforpost, Angelus, Londrina, PR, Brazil) with a conventional adhesive system and resin luting cement (Adper Scotchbond Multi-purpose, Rely X ARC, 3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA). The teeth were randomly divided (n=10 per group) into micro-push-out (Mpo), hourglass- (Mh) and rectangular stick-shaped (Ms) microtensile testing groups before sectioning each root into five 1-mm-thick specimens. During specimen preparation for microTBS testing 46/50 stick and 4/50 hourglass specimens prematurely failed; therefore, the Ms group could not be included in the mechanical testing. The remaining specimens were tested at 0.5 mm/min until bond failure. Stress distribution within each specimen type for the three mechanical test methods was analyzed by finite element analysis (FEA). Qualitative analyses were carried out through Von Mises, XY and Sy criterion. RESULTS: Mpo and Mh had a mean microTBS of 11.89+/-6.55 and 14.98+/-12.72 MPa, respectively, which was not significantly different (p=0.1311). The push-out test demonstrated a more homogenous stress distribution by FEA and less variability in mechanical testing. SIGNIFICANCE: Therefore, the recommended testing method for determining the bond strength of glass posts to intraradicular dentin is by Mpo.

Effects of oxalate on dentin bond after 3-month simulated pulpal pressure.

OBJECTIVES: Application of an acidic oxalate solution forms calcium oxalate within dentinal tubules and has been used to desensitize dentin and may also improve performance by reducing internal dentin wetness during bonding. The hypothesis tested was that oxalate restriction of dentinal fluid transudation when using an etch-and-rinse two-step adhesive will improve microtensile bond strength (muTBS) and reduce nanoleakage. METHODS: Occlusal dentin of 60 human molars were bonded (Adper Single Bond Plus, 3M ESPE) while one-half of each tooth received either a liquid (SuperSeal, Phoenix Dental) or gel (BisBlock, Bisco) oxalate treatment after acid etching. The restored teeth were placed under pulpal pressure for 3 months before forming cylindrical dumbbell specimens for muTBS and failure pathway determination. Additional teeth were prepared and stored in a similar manner for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of nanoleakage after tracer immersion. RESULTS: The mean bond strength in the group with oxalate liquid and the control group was 27.06+/-7.14 and 36.18+/-9.07 MPa, respectively, and for the gel form of oxalate was 25.34+/-13.09 and 33.09+/-14.25 MPa, respectively. The control groups were significantly stronger than either oxalate group using t-tests (liquid p<0.00001; gel p=0.0032) or Weibull (liquid p=0.0002; gel p=0.0029) statistics. Oxalate groups also demonstrated more adhesive failure modes and nanoleakage. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of this study, the application of oxalate with an etch-and-rinse two-step bonding system produced significantly lower long-term muTBS and enhanced nanoleakage.

Effects of polar solvents and adhesive resin on the denaturation temperatures of demineralised dentine matrices.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the denaturation temperature (Td) of demineralised dentine matrix as a function of infiltration with water vs. polar solvents vs. adhesive resins. METHODS: Small discs of normal dentine were completely demineralised in 0.5M EDTA. Dried demineralised specimens were placed in water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, eta-butanol or HEMA. Additional specimens were infiltrated with Prime&Bond NT and polymerised. All specimens sealed in high-pressure pans and scanned using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). RESULTS: Demineralised dentine saturated with water showed a Td of 65.6 degrees C that increased with saturation by methanol, ethanol, acetone, eta-butanol or HEMA to 148.5 degrees C. These increases in Td were inversely related to the molar concentration of the solvents and to their Hoy's solubility parameter for hydrogen bonding (delta h, p<0.01), as well as directly related to the cube root of their molecular weights (p<0.001). The presence of adhesive resins also increased the Td of demineralised matrices to even higher values depending if the resin bonded dentine was measured after 24h of water storage (166.8 degrees C) or dry (172.7 degrees C) storage. CONCLUSIONS: Solvents and monomers with low delta(h) values (i.e., 100% HEMA) increase the Td of demineralised dentine above that produced by solvents with higher delta h values such as methanol and water.

Susceptibility of a polycaprolactone-based root canal-filling material to degradation. III. Turbidimetric evaluation of enzymatic hydrolysis.

The susceptibility of Resilon (Pentron Clinical Technologies, Wallingford, CT) to biotic biodegradation by two hydrolases, lipase PS and cholesterol esterase, was investigated with a turbidimetric approach by measuring the optical density reductions in aqueous emulsions containing dissolved, filtered, surfactant-stabilized polymeric components of Resilon. Polycaprolactone, the major polymeric component of Resilon, was also examined in a similar manner using equivalent or a four-fold increase in enzyme concentration. Optical density time plots were characterized by an initially linear steep reduction in optical density, from which the reaction rates were derived. For both enzymes, the rates of hydrolysis for Resilon were much faster than those of polycaprolactone at 1x or even 4x enzyme concentration. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy of air-dried Resilon and polycaprolactone emulsions revealed the presence of spherical polymer droplets that appeared deformed, pitted, or much reduced in dimensions after enzymatic hydrolysis.