Bioactive nanofibers production for application in dental biomaterials: association of nanotechnology with 3D printing

• Grant number: 24/13827-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Dental Materials
• Principal Investigator: Marilia Mattar de Amoêdo Campos Velo
• Grantee: Marilia Mattar de Amoêdo Campos Velo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Nikolaos Silikas ; Tatiana Rita de Lima Nascimento

Abstract

The incorporation of bioactive hybrid nanofibers into resinous materials represents a promisingalternative for the reinforcement of biomaterials. Thus, this research project aims to producefunctionalized bioactive nanofibers for application in dental biomaterials. The morphology and composition of the nanofibers doped with fluorinated niobium (Nb/F) will be characterized by highresolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), energy-dispersive X-rayspectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The functionalization of thenanoparticles will be evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The colloidal stability of the resins will be analyzed by zeta potential (¿ potential) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The viscosity of the prepared resins will be measured using a rheometer, with a constant volume of 1mL measured at 10 rpm for 2 minutes at room temperature.Subsequently, the Nb/F nanofibers will be incorporated into 3D-printable composite resin (three levels: no addition, 0.5%, and 1% by weight).For this, specimens will be printed using a DLP-type printer and evaluated in terms of flexuralstrength, modulus of elasticity, surface hardness, sorption and solubility, surface roughness, surface gloss, color changes under artificial aging conditions, translucency, residual monomer release, and monomer conversion degree. The release of F- ions will also be evaluated in the specimens, as well as contact angle analysis. The bioactivity evaluation will be carried out by immersing the printed resin specimens in an in vitro simulated body fluid test, followed by X-ray diffraction analysis and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) will be conducted on the resin specimens and simulated body fluid solutions. For the quantitative analyses, after verifying the normality and homogeneity of the data, analysis of variancewill be performed, and if normality is present, a post-hoc test for group comparisons will be conducted (p<0.05).It is expected that the Nb/F-doped hybrid nanofibers will be produced and incorporated into 3Dprintable resin, aiming to develop more effective restorative materials in the application and popularization of existing additive manufacturing technologies in Dentistry (AU)