The Role of Amines in the Camphorquinone Photoinitiated Polymerization of Multifunctional Monomer

Degree of conversion and dentin bond strength of light-cured multi-mode adhesives pretreated or mixed with sulfinate agents

The influence of sulfinate agents applied as a dentin pretreatment or a mixture with multi-mode one-step self-etch adhesives (1-SEAs) on the degree of conversion (DC) and micro-tensile bond strength (μTBS) of light-cured 1-SEAs was investigated. 1-SEAs Clearfil Universal Bond Quick (UBQ) or Scotchbond Universal Adhesive (SBU) were applied to dentin in etch&rinse or self-etch mode using various application strategies: 1) no pretreatment, 2) pretreatment with 90 wt% ethanol, 3) pretreatment with a sulfinate agent Clearfil DC Activator (UDC) or Scotchbond Universal DCA (SDC), or 4) a mixture of UBQ+UDC or SBU+SDC. μTBS was measured after 24 h. Additionally, DC was measured using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Pretreatment with sulfinate agents resulted in the highest μTBS and DC, significantly improving them especially in etch&rinse mode. The mixture of sulfinate agents with 1-SEAs was less effective. Pretreatment with ethanol significantly improved μTBS in etch&rinse mode but compromised μTBS in self-etch mode.

Gelatin Type A from Porcine Skin Used as Co-Initiator in a Radical Photo-Initiating System

In the present study, a different approach for the preparation of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate-gelatin (PEGDA-gelatin) hydrogels was investigated. Gelatin type A from porcine skin was used as the co-initiator of a radical photo-initiating system instead of the traditional aliphatic or aromatic amines. This became possible because, upon visible-light irradiation, the amine sequences within gelatin generate initiating free-radicals through the intermolecular proton transfer in a Norrish type II reaction with camphorquinone (CQ). PEGDA-gelatin hydrogels were prepared by visible-light-induced photopolymerization. The gelatin content in the precursor formulations was varied. The influence of gelatin on the kinetics of the photocuring reaction was investigated, and it was found that gelatin fastened the rate of polymerization at all concentrations. The covalent attachment of gelatin segments within the cross-linked hydrogels was evaluated by means of attenuated total reflectance-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy after solvent extraction. The thermo-mechanical properties, as well as the swelling behavior and gel content, were also investigated.

Digital Maskless Photolithographic Patterning of DNA-Functionalized Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Hydrogels with Visible Light Enabling Photodirected Release of Oligonucleotides

Soft biomaterials possessing structural hierarchy have growing applications in lab-on-chip devices, artificial tissues, and micromechanical and chemomechanical systems. The ability to integrate sets of biomolecules, specifically DNA, within hydrogel substrates at precise locations could offer the potential to form and modulate complex biochemical processes with DNA-based molecular switches in such materials and provide a means of creating dynamic spatial patterns, thus enabling spatiotemporal control of a wide array of reaction-diffusion phenomena prevalent in biological systems. Here we develop a means of photopatterning two-dimensional DNA-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel architectures with an aim toward these applications. While PEGDA photopatterning methods are well-established for the fabrication of hydrogels, including those containing oligonucleotides, the photoinitiators typically used have significant crosstalk with many UV-photoswitchable chemistries including nitrobenzyl derivatives. We demonstrate the digital photopatterning of PEGDA-co-DNA hydrogels using a blue light-absorbing (470 nm peak) photoinitiator system and macromer comprised of camphorquinone, triethanolamine, and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (M_n = 575) that minimizes absorption in the UV-A wavelength range commonly used to trigger photoswitchable chemistries. We demonstrate this method using digital maskless photolithography within microfluidic devices that allows for the reliable construction of multidomain structures. The method achieves feature resolutions as small as 25 μm, and the resulting materials allow for lateral isotropic bulk diffusion of short single-stranded (ss) DNA oligonucleotides. Finally, we show how the use of these photoinitiators allows for orthogonal control of photopolymerization and UV-photoscission of acrylate-modified DNA containing a 1-(2-nitrophenyl) ethyl spacer to selectively cleave DNA from regions of a PEGDA substrate.

Effect of the Bis-Dimethylamino Benzydrol Coinitiator on the Mechanical and Biological Properties of a Composite

To examine the effect of the alternative coinitiator 4,4'bis dimethylamino benzydrol (BZN) in degree of conversion (DC), mechanical and biological properties of experimental composites. The coinitiator BZN was used in three concentrations (0.2, 0.5 and 1.2%), and the coinitiator DMAEMA was used as control at the same concentrations as above. The molar concentration of camphorquinone (CQ) and coinitiators was kept constant (1:1). The composites were manipulated and submitted to microhardness test (VHN), flexural and compressive strength (in MPa), elastic modulus (GPa), DC (FT-IR) and in vitro cytotoxicity (against 3T3 fibroblastic cells) of the experimental resins. Data were subjected to two-way ANOVA and Tukey post-test (α=0.05). The experimental composite resin with BZN showed higher DC values compared to control DMAEMA groups. For the mechanical properties, microhardness values were higher in BZN groups; flexural strength and elastic modulus were similar between all the groups. Compressive strength for groups BZN0.5 and DMAEMA0.5 were not statistically different, being the lowest values attributed to group BZN0.2. The experimental resins with BZN and DMAEMA were considered nontoxic against 3T3 fibroblasts. The inclusion of the coinitiator BZN in experimental composites was considered nontoxic against 3T3 fibroblast cells, without compromising DC and mechanical properties.

A novel photoinitiating system producing germyl radicals for the polymerization of representative methacrylate resins: Camphorquinone/R3GeH/iodonium salt

OBJECTIVES

The aim of our study is to find an amine free photoinitiating system (PIS) for the polymerization of representative dental methacrylate resins. A photoinitiating system (PIS) based on camphorquinone (CQ)/triphenylgermanium hydride/diphenyl iodonium hexafluorophosphate is proposed and compared to the conventional CQ/amine couple. The polymerization monitoring of thin (∼20μm) and thick (1.4mm) samples of a bisphenol A-glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA)/triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) blend (70%/30% w/w) and of a urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) upon exposure to a commercial blue LED centered at 477nm under air or in laminate is described. Finally, the impact of the photoinitiating system composition on the final polymer color is evaluated in detail.

METHODS

FTIR and DSC experiments are used to record the photopolymerization profiles. ESR spectrometry and steady state photolysis are used to detect the produced radicals. Color measurements are carried out to determine the key parameters in the bleaching of the different dental formulations.

RESULTS

The efficiency of the newly proposed PISs for the photopolymerization of BisGMA/TEGDMA and UDMA for thin (20μm) or for thick (1.4mm) samples upon exposure to a dental blue LED under air is excellent. It is noticeably higher than that of the CQ/amine reference couple. Excellent bleaching properties are also observed under irradiation in presence of the new PISs. A good correlation is found between the sample bleaching and the amount of Ph3GeH in the formulation. The excited state processes could be established. The overall chemical mechanisms for the initiation step were also clarified.

Effect of co-initiator ratio on the polymer properties of experimental resin composites formulated with camphorquinone and phenyl-propanedione

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effect of amine ratio (ethyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate, EDMAB) on the maximum rate of polymerization (R(p)(max)), degree of conversion (DC), Knoop hardness (KH), water sorption (Wsp), water solubility (Wsl) and color changes (DeltaE) over time of resin composites formulated with the photoinitiators camphorquinone (CQ), phenylpropanedione (PPD) and CQ-PPD in combination.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental resin composites were made with photoinitiator:amine ratios of 2:1, 1:1, 1:1.5 and 1:2 by weight. R(p)(max) was evaluated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), DC with DSC and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, KH with Knoop indentation, Wsp and Wsl adapted from ISO 4049; and color with a chromameter. The results were analyzed with two-way ANOVA/Tukey's multiple comparison test (p<0.05).

RESULTS

The higher the amine ratio in the composite, the higher was DC, R(p)(max), and KH, and the lower was Wsl, regardless of the photoinitiator type. The use of PPD alone resulted in poorer properties than CQ and CQ-PPD. Many factors seem to affect the color changes and the b-axis data revealed that the higher the amine ratio, the higher was the +b value (yellowing) for CQ and CQ-PPD formulations.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher amine ratios led to improved polymer properties, but also produced more yellowing in resin composites with CQ and CQ-PPD. The use of PPD alone was not advantageous for producing good final properties when compared to CQ and CQ-PPD.