This in-vitro study evaluated the compressive strength and radiopacity of denovo synthesized calcium silicate cement containing zinc oxide nanoparticles versus commercial materials.
A total of 100 specimens were prepared for this study, 25 of them were prepared for each of the 4 materials group: Synthesized Calcium Silicate Cement (SYNT), Nano Zinc Oxide added to the synthesized calcium silicate cement (NANO), Angelus White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and Theracal (THCL). The 25 specimens of each group was then distributed as follows: 10 were tested for compressive strength (MPa) on day 10, 10 were tested for compressive strength (MPa) on day 30; the last 5 specimens were tested for radiopacity. Data was then recorded, tabulated and statistically analyzed. The mean MPa results on day 10 recorded the highest by THCL-10 (55.35 ± 9.82), while the lowest value was recorded for NANO-10 (4.90 ± 1.61). The mean MPa on day 30 recorded by the NANO-30 (52.66 ± 19.30) was the highest, while the lowest value was recorded for SYNT-30 (21.70 ± 2.55). All subgroups on day 10 compared to those on day 30 showed significant statistical difference at p<0.05; Where the mean MPa of SYNT-30 was less than that of SYNT-10, the same was observed for the THCL subgroups. As for the mean MPa of NANO-30 was higher than that NANO-10, the MTA subgroups expressed the same results. On the other hand, the radiopacity results showed that the highest mean radiopacity value was recorded for THCL (9.43 ± 0.60), followed by MTA (9.38 ± 0.63), then NANO (5.06 ± 0.54), while the lowest value was recorded for SYNT (1.26 ± 0.24). In conclusion, the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles in calcium silicate based enhances the physicomechanical properties of the cement expressed in terms of compressive strength and radiopacity in comparison to commercially available materials such as MTA and theracal.