Silver sulfadiazine immobilized glass as antimicrobial fillers for dental restorative materials

Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on dental resin composites cause secondary caries that shortens the service life of dental restorative materials. In this study, commercial barium borosilicate based glass powders, fillers widely used in dental composites, were covalently immobilized with silver sulfadiazine to provide antimicrobial effects. The chemical reactions were followed by FT-IR study, elemental analysis, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and the reaction pathway was confirmed by model compound studies. The resulting glass powders demonstrated potent antimicrobial effects against Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). BisGMA (2,2-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacrylyloxypropoxy)phenyl] propane)-based dental resins containing 2% to 10% of the new silver sulfadiazine glass powders exhibited powerful and durable antimicrobial efficacy against S. mutans. The mechanical properties of the antimicrobial resins were not negatively affected by the silver sulfadiazine glass powders, making them attractive candidates as antimicrobial fillers for dental composites and other related biomedical applications.