Investigating the Cytocompatibility of a Novel Flipped Ester Group Design Polymer Composites against Oral Keratinocytes

Abstract

The methacrylate based polymeric materials have been widely used in dentistry because of the ease in tuning the physico-mechanical properties along with their ability to polymerize at room temperature in a period of seconds without causing deleterious exothermal effects. However, these materials are susceptible to hydrolysis of functional ester groups in the polymer backbone which prompted the development of a novel designer polymer with ester groups present in the side chain instead of the polymer backbone. Previously we have compared the physico-mechanical and stability profile of the new polymer with traditional EGDMA using accelerated aging, esterase, and bacterial incubation models. Another important parameter for polymer design in biological systems, such as use in dentistry, is polymer biocompatibility. The goal of this pilot investigation was to assess the cytocompatibility of novel design polymer EGEMA compared to EGDMA, a diluting agent in dental formulations, and a commercially available formulation Helioseal® (Ivoclar Vivodent). Material discs of the EGEMA, EGDMA, and Helioseal® were test in the presence of oral keratinocytes (TERT-2/OKF-6). After assessing oral keratinocytes cellular metabolic activity and cell morphology, the investigation suggested EGEMA and EGDMA showed comparable cytocompatibility that was statistical more favorable than Helioseal®.