Evaluation of Fracture Toughness, Color Stability, and Sorption Solubility of a Fabricated Novel Glass Ionomer Nano Zirconia-Silica-Hydroxyapatite Hybrid Composite Material

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adding a nano zirconia-silica-hydroxyapatite (nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA) composite synthesized using a one-pot sol-gel technique to a conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC), which was then characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Following the characterization studies, further investigations were carried out after the addition of nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA to cGIC (GIC nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA) at various percentages (~5% to 9%) to compare their fracture toughness, color stability, and sorption- solubility in relation to cGIC (Fuji IX). The XRD diffractogram indicated the presence of peaks for ZrO2, SiO2, and HA. The fracture toughness of GIC 5%nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA was statistically higher than that of other percentages of GIC nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA and cGIC. The highest values recorded were fracture toughness ( $1.35\pm 0.15\text{MPa}.{\text{m}}^{1/2}$ ), leading to an increase of ∼57%, as compared to cGIC. Overall, the color change ( $\Delta E$ ) values for GIC 5% nano Zr-Si-HA group were lower than those of cGIC over a one-month period and were between slight and perceptible. In addition, GIC 5%nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA recorded lower sorption values ( $23.64\pm 2.3\mu \text{gm}{\text{m}}^{-3}$ ) as compared to cGIC ( $36.28\pm 2.6\mu \text{gm}{\text{m}}^{-3}$ ) and higher solubility ( $66.46\pm 2.4\mu \text{gm}{\text{m}}^{-3}$ ) as compared to cGIC ( $56.76\pm 1.6\mu \text{gm}{\text{m}}^{-3}$ ). The addition of nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA to cGIC significantly enhanced its physicomechanical properties. Based on the results of our study, GIC nanoZrO2-SiO2-HA has the potential to be suggested as a restorative dental material with diverse applications ranging from cavity restoration, core build-up, and as a luting material.