Time dependence of the mechanical properties of GICs in simulated physiological conditions

The mechanical properties of glass-ionomer cements (GICs) have been satisfactory for dental applications and have shown their potential in orthopedic surgery. Because the physiological environment in orthopedics is different from dentistry by unavoidable contamination with blood and other fluids such as normal saline used during an operation, the determination of GICs for orthopedic applications should be performed in an appropriate environment. The properties of a novel resin-modified GIC, S430, for orthopedic applications were evaluated in simulated orthopedic conditions by an early exposure to and long-term storage in normal saline. An early exposure to normal saline caused 20–60% reduction of its compressive and flexural properties, whereas long-term storage in normal saline showed slight changes of its mechanical properties. The effects were probably due to the disturbance of the cross-linking formation in the acid-base reaction and also the reduction of electrostatic interactions of the cross-linking polymeric chain of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in resin-modified GIC.