Clay - loaded chitosan-based biocompatible composite films in dentistry

Balaram Naik; Tanvi Dugge; V. Ranijikanth; K. Raghava Reddy; Nikolaos Soldatos; Shyam S. Shukla; Mallikarjuna Nadagouda; Tejraj M. Aminabhavi; Amit Pachlag

Volume : IX, Issue : III, March - 2019

Clay - loaded chitosan-based biocompatible composite films in dentistry

Balaram Naik, Tanvi Dugge, V. Ranijikanth, K. Raghava Reddy, Nikolaos Soldatos, Shyam S. Shukla, Mallikarjuna Nadagouda, Tejraj M. Aminabhavi, Amit Pachlag

Abstract :

Chitosan–derived nanocomposites loaded with montmorillonite clay, designated as CS/MMT, were prepared by physical mixing of chitosan polymer and sodium montmorillonite (MMT) particles. The main objective of this work was to obtain transparent films that may have useful applications as dental materials in dental surgery. The polymer thin films were prepared by loading varying concentrations of clay particles and their physico–mechanical as well as antibacterial properties were measured. Materials and Methods: Chitosan, MMT clay, acetic acid glacial, distilled water are used as received. Composite memanes of pure chitosan (CS) and CS/MMT were prepared. Chitosan solution was prepared by dissolving CS in acetic acid. MMT clay particles were then dispersed in water in a beaker and added to the previously prepared CS solution. Uniform thickness films or memanes were casted on a clean flat glass plate, dried and peeled off to remove the films formed. Pristine CS film was prepared in the same manner except that clay filler particles were not added. The films thus prepared were all characterized by SEM, XRD, and UTM to understand their properties. Results: Tensile strength, yield strength, modulus of elasticity increased significantly with increasing concentration of the clay particles. The addition of silver nitrate nanoparticles showed significantly higher antimicrobial activity compared to pure chitosan film. Conclusions: The results suggest a potential application of nanocomposites developed based on natural biopolymers that are biodegradable and biocompatible materials having good antimicrobial activity.