In this research work, we synthesised poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) enriched with 2 wt.% zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) through conventional heat polymerisation and characterised its microstructure. It was found that the distribution of ZnO nanoparticles was homogeneous through the volume of the PMMA. The mechanical testing of the PMMA-ZnO composite primarily included the determination of the compressive properties on real dentures, while density measurements were performed using a pycnometer. The testing of functional properties involved the identification of the colour of the new PMMA-ZnO composite, where pure PMMA acted as a control. In the second step, the PMMA-ZnO cytotoxicity assays were measured in vitro, which were shown to be similar to the control PMMA. Based on this, it could be concluded that the newly formed PMMA-ZnO composite did not induce direct or indirect cytotoxic effects in L929 cell cultures; therefore, according to ISO/DIN 10993-5:2009, this composite was categorised as non-cytotoxic.

Wear resistance is one of the most important physical properties of the artificial teeth used in acrylic dentures. The goal of this research was to synthesize a new composite material made of matrix Poly-(methyl methacrylate)-PMMA with different percentages (2 % and 3 % of volume fractions) of zinc-oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) as reinforcing elements, to improve its mechanical properties. The dynamic mechanical behaviour of this composite was studied through the DMA method in comparison to the pure PMMA supported by the characterization of their microstructures. Then the wear resistance was analysed on the samples, which were prepared in the form of teeth. In this context their vertical height loss was measured after 100,000 chewing cycles on a chewing simulator, before and after the artificial thermal ageing. Investigations showed that the PMMA/ZnO NP composites dampened the vibrations better than the pure PMMA, which could be assigned to the homogenous distribution of ZnO NPs in the PMMA matrix. It was found that the mean vertical height loss for the pure PMMA teeth was significantly higher (more than 4 times) compared to composite teeth made with ZnO NPs. Introducing the thermal artificial ageing led to the finding that there was no effect on the height loss by the composite material with 3 % of volume fractions of ZnO NPs. Based on this it was concluded that PMMA/ZnO NPs composites showed improved in-vitro wear resistance compared to acrylic-resin denture teeth, so this new composite material should be preferred when occlusal stability is considered to be of high priority. Keywords: poly-(methyl methacrylate)-PMMA, zinc-oxide nanoparticles, composite, resin teeth Odpornost proti obrabi je ena izmed najbolj pomembnih fizikalnih lastnosti umetnih zob pri akrilnih protezah. Cilj te raziskave je bil sintetiziranje novega kompozitnega materiala, izdelanega iz matrice poli-(metil meta akrilata)-PMMA z razli~nimi volumskimi odstotki (2 % in 3 %) nanodelcev cinkovega oksida (ZnO NPs), uporabljenimi kot oja~itveni element za izbolj{anje mehanskih lastnosti materiala. Dinami~no mehansko obna{anje teh kompozitov smo raziskali z metodo DMA v primerjavi s istim PMMA, ter s karakterizacijo njihovih mikrostruktur. Nato je bila analizirana odpornost proti obrabi na vzorcih, ki so bili pripravljeni v obliki zob. Izmerjena je bila njihova navpi~na izguba vi{ine po 100.000`ve~ilnih ciklih na`ve~ilnem simulatorju, pred in po umetnem toplotnem staranju. Preiskave so pokazale, da so PMMA/ZnO NPs kompoziti bolje bla`ili vibracije kot~isti PMMA, kar lahko pripi{emo homogeni porazdelitvi ZnO NPs v PMMA matrici. Ugotovili smo, da je bila povpre~na navpi~na izguba vi{ina za~isti PMMA zob znatno vi{ja (ve~kot 4×) v primerjavi s kompozitnimi zobmi z ZnO NPs. Umetno toplotno staranje ni imelo u~inka na izgubo navpi~ne vi{ine zoba iz kompozitnega materiala s 3 volumskimi % ZnO NPs. Na podlagi tega smo sklenili, da imajo kompoziti PMMA/ZnO NPs izbolj{ano in vitro odpornost proti obrabi, v primerjavi z zobno protezo iz akrilne smole, zato n...

Introduction/Objective The objective of this paper is to describe the microstructure and mechanical properties of sintered Co-Cr alloy and to emphasize its advantages and disadvantages with respect to the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Co-Cr alloy. Methods Base Co-Cr alloy, EOSint M EOS Co-Cr SP2 (EOS GmbH, Munch, Germany), was used for the purpose of this research as the base material for sintering metal structures of metal-ceramic restorations. Metal sintering was conducted by using EOSint M 280 device of German origin in a stream of neutral gas-argon. After that, the alloy was heated over a period of 20 minutes at the temperature of 800°C. The chemical composition of the alloy was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. Microstructure of the tested alloy samples was examined under an optical metallographic and scanning electron microscope. Physical and mechanical properties were measured in a universal testing machine. The samples were prepared according to the standard ISO 527-1:1993. Results Chemical composition of the sintered Co-Cr alloy, determined by applying energy dispersive spectroscopy, indicated the same qualitative but different quantitative composition compared to cast Co-Cr alloys. The microstructure of the sintered Co-Cr alloy is lamellar in nature, with two dominant phases: ξ-Co and/or ξ-Cr (fcc-face-centered cubic) and γ-Co (hcp-hexagonal close-packed). Mechanical properties of the Co-Cr alloy obtained by applying selective laser melting technology compared to the cast Co-Cr alloy are superior or approximately the same. Conclusion Selective laser melting of the Co-Cr alloy is a good example of new technologies based on digitization. Together with other digitized procedures, this technology is an introduction to a new era in dentistry popularly called Dentistry 4.0. The advantages of the selective laser melting technology with respect to the conventional technology of casting Co-Cr alloy metal structures are precise metal structure fitting and eco-friendly technology.

This work presents a review of Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) as a technique for the synthesis of gold nanoparticle (AuNPs). The synthesis mechanism involved the preparation of the precursor solution from Au (III) Acetate and the study of the process parameters. AuNPs were characterized with different techniques, such as DLS, UV-vis and SEM-EDX analyses. In the second step, the AuNPs` ink was prepared with the following procedure: (i) Concentration of the AuNPs through Rotavapor, (ii) Filtration of the concentrated AuNPs through Amicon Ultra 15 Centrifugal Filters. Then, it was used directly for printing on an Ag plate. In the final part, we present some information about AuNPs` future applications, which could be in printed electronics with conducted patterns.

We investigated the effects of two different types of impact modifiers, i.e. core-shell rubber and aliphatic polyester, on the mechanical and thermal properties of polylactide (PLA) filaments for 3D printing. First, PLA/impact modifier blends with various concentrations of impact modifiers were prepared by melt blending in a co-rotating twin screw extruder and test specimens by injection molding. The mechanical and thermal properties of blends were investigated by tensile and bending tests, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and Charpy impact test. It was found that core-shell rubber remarkably improved Charpy impact strength at loadings above 5 wt % (up to 746 %). As shown by DMA, the PLA/10 wt % core-shell rubber blend exhibited better damping performance as compared to neat PLA over the whole examined frequency range, especially at high frequencies, which explained the increase in impact strength. The filament for a fused deposition modeling (FDM), 3D printer was prepared from blend with the highest impact strength (PLA/10 wt % core-shell rubber), whereas PLA and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) filaments were used for reference. Test specimens were prepared by using a consumer FDM 3D printer. The mechanical and thermal properties were investigated by tensile and bending tests, DMA, Charpy impact test, and ultra-fast differential scanning calorimetry (Flash DSC). Specimens from PLA blend exhibited 109 % increase in Charpy impact strength as compared to neat PLA. In contrast to injection molded specimens, 3D printed PLA blend exhibited higher tensile E modulus than neat PLA, which was ascribed to improved interlayer adhesion. Moreover, DMA and Flash DSC analysis of 3D printed specimens showed an increase in the glass transition temperature as compared to injection molded specimens. This phenomenon was ascribed to reduction of free volume because of slow cooling in 3D printing process, which is also the reason for increased tensile E modulus of the PLA blend. All tested PLA, PLA blend and ABS filaments were in amorphous state as shown by Flash DSC analysis. Bending test showed an increased toughness of PLA blend in comparison to neat PLA and also higher toughness as compared to ABS. The modified polylactide (PLA/10 wt % core-shell rubber) filament thus combines easy processability of PLA filament and impact toughness of ABS filament.