Objective

Hydration in denture adhesives regulates the formation of complex morphologies and mechanical function. Multiscale experimental approaches are required to evaluate the impact of hydration on the inherent heterogeneity of denture adhesive-based hydrogels at different length scales and the impact of such phenomena on adhesion performance.

Methods

The morphology of hydrated denture adhesives was examined via cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). The rheological and thermodynamic behaviour of bulk hydrated deture adhesives was examined by rheology and differential scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The microscopic mechanical properties of the denture adhesives were characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared to the properties measured at the macroscopic scale.

Results

The rheological and mechanical properties of commerically available denture adhesive hydrogels were found to be critically dependent on both the formulation of the adhesives and their hydration level. Clear progression of phase separation was observed in hydrated denture adhesives as hydration increased and changed the mechanical properties of the adhesives at multiple length scales. The adhesives displaying more heterogeneous structures, which were associated with the presence of hydrophobic and organic compounds in the formulation, exhibited more variable mechanical behaviour and weaker rheological properties, but stronger adhesive properties.

Significance

Our results are important in defining the relationships between hydrophilicity, hydration, mechanical and adhesive properties of denture adhesives, allowing the development of improved chemical formulations that control the fixation of dentures.

中文翻译：

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义齿粘合水凝胶的水合作用力学性能

客观的

义齿粘合剂中的水合作用可调节复杂形态和机械功能的形成。需要多尺度的实验方法来评估水合对不同长度比例的义齿粘合剂基水凝胶固有的非均质性的影响，以及这种现象对粘合性能的影响。

方法

通过冷冻扫描电子显微镜（cryo-SEM）检查了水合义齿粘合剂的形态。通过流变学和差示扫描量热法（DSC）检查了大块水合胶粘剂的流变学和热力学行为。义齿粘合剂的微观机械性能通过原子力显微镜（AFM）进行了表征，并与在宏观尺度下测得的性能进行了比较。

结果

发现市售义齿粘合剂水凝胶的流变学和机械性能关键取决于粘合剂的配方及其水合水平。在水合义齿粘合剂中观察到明显的相分离进展，因为水合增加并在多个长度尺度上改变了粘合剂的机械性能。胶粘剂显示出更多的异质结构，与配方中存在疏水性和有机化合物有关，表现出更多的可变机械性能和较弱的流变性能，但胶粘剂性能更强。

意义

我们的结果对于定义义齿粘合剂的亲水性，水化，机械和粘合特性之间的关系非常重要，从而可以开发出控制义齿固定的改良化学配方。