Biofilm formation on denture base resin including ZnO, CaO, and TiO₂ nanoparticles

Purpose: This laboratory study aimed to investigate the effect of doping an acrylic denture base resin material with nanoparticles of ZnO, CaO, and TiO₂ on biofilm formation.

Materials and methods: Standardized specimens of a commercially available cold-curing acrylic denture base resin material were doped with 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, or 0.8 wt% commercially available ZnO, CaO, and TiO₂ nanopowder. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used to identify the availability of the nanoparticles on the surface of the modified specimens. Surface roughness was determined by employing a profilometric approach; biofilm formation was simulated using a monospecies Candida albicans biofilm model and a multispecies biofilm model including C. albicans, Actinomyces naeslundii, and Streptococcus gordonii. Relative viable biomass was determined after 20 hours and 44 hours using a MTT-based approach.

Results: No statistically significant disparities were identified among the various materials regarding surface roughness and relative viable biomass.

Conclusion: The results indicate that doping denture base resin materials with commercially available ZnO, CaO, or TiO₂ nanopowders do not inhibit biofilm formation on their surface. Further studies might address the impact of varying particle sizes as well as increasing the fraction of nanoparticles mixed into the acrylic resin matrix.