Effect of Copolymerizing Antimicrobial Monomers on Mechanical Properties of PMMA Heat Cure Denture Base Resin

To investigate the mechanical properties such as flexural strength (FS), and impact strength (IS) of conventional PMMA heat cure resin modified by copolymerizing it with different concentrations of DHMAI and DDMAI antimicrobial monomers. Two different quaternary ammonium-based copolymerizing antimicrobial monomers such as DHMAI (1, 2, or 5 ug/mL) and DDMAI (5, 10, or 20 ug/mL) were incorporated into PMMA resin, and its mechanical properties were evaluated. To determine the flexural strength (FS) specimens were subjected to a threepoint-bending test in a universal testing machine (UTM) and impact strength (IS) was assessed using an Izod-Type impact testing machine. Data analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA and Tukey s post-hoc test at a significance level of 95%. Addition of DHMAI (5 ug/mL), and DDMAI (20 ug/mL) to PMMA material significantly increased FS. However, no significant differences were observed for DHMAI (1, 2 ug/mL) and DDMAI (5, 10 ug/mL) concentrations compared to the control group. Whereas, copolymerization of DHMAI at 5 ug/mL and DDMAI at 20 ug/mL has increased the IS significantly (p 0.001). Copolymerization of antifungal monomers with PMMA resin improved FS. These antifungal monomers can be incorporated into PMMA denture base resin without significantly affecting the mechanical characteristics.