RESUMEN
Poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based dental resins with strong and long-lasting antifungal properties are critical for the prevention of denture stomatitis. This study evaluated the antifungal effects on Candida albicans ATCC90028, the cytotoxicity toward human dental pulp cells (HDPCs), and the mechanical properties of a silver bromide/cationic polymer nano-composite (AgBr/NPVP)-modified PMMA-based dental resin. AgBr/NPVP was added to the PMMA resin at 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 wt%, and PMMA resin without AgBr/NPVP served as the control. Fungal growth was inhibited on the AgBr/NPVP-modified PMMA resin compared to the control (P < 0.05), and the antifungal activity increased as the incorporation of the AgBr/NPVP antimicrobial composite increased. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) showed that the number of fungal cells attached to the modified PMMA resin was considerably lower than in the control. The relative growth rate of HDPCs of modified groups were higher than 75%. The flexural strength (FS) and flexural modulus (FM) were not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the experimental and control groups. These data indicate that the incorporation of AgBr/NPVP conferred strong and long-lasting antifungal effects against Candida albicans to the PMMA resin, and it has low toxicity toward HDPCs, and its mechanical properties were not significantly affected.