Reinforcement of acrylic denture base resin by incorporation of various fibers

• Published in: Journal of biomedical materials research 2001, Vol.58 (2), p.203-208
• Main Authors: Chen, San-Yue, Liang, Wen-Miin, Yen, Pau-Su
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acrylic resin; Acrylic Resins; Biological and medical sciences; Elasticity; Ent and stomatology; Glass; glass fiber; Humans; impact strength; Kevlar fiber; Medical sciences; polyester fiber; Polyesters; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Stomatology
• ISSN: 0021-9304; 1097-4636
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-4636(2001)58:2<203::AID-JBM1008>3.0.CO;2-G

This study was designed to evaluate improvements in the mechanical properties of acrylic resin following reinforcement with three types of fiber. Polyester fiber (PE), Kevlar fiber (KF), and glass fiber (GF) were cut into 2, 4, and 6 mm lengths and incorporated at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3% (w/w). The mixtures of resin and fiber were cured at 70°C in a water bath for 13 h, then at 90°C for 1 h, in 70 × 25 × 15 mm stone molds, which were enclosed by dental flasks. The cured resin blocks were cut to an appropriate size and tested for impact strength and bending strength following the methods of ASTM Specification No. 256 and ISO Specification No. 1567, respectively. Specimens used in the impact strength test were reused for the Knoop hardness test. The results showed that the impact strength tended to be enhanced with fiber length and concentration, particularly PE at 3% and 6 mm length, which was significantly stronger than other formulations. Bending strength did not change significantly with the various formulations when compared to a control without fiber. The assessment of Knoop hardness revealed a complex pattern for the various formulations. The Knoop hardness of 3%, 6 mm PE‐reinforced resin was comparable to that of the other formulations except for the control without fiber, but for clinical usage this did not adversely affect the merit of acrylic denture base resin. It is concluded that, for improved strength the optimum formulation to reinforce acrylic resin is by incorporation of 3%, 6 mm length PE fibers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 58: 203–208, 2001