The Preparation, the Physicochemical Assessment, and the Antimicrobial Action of Nanocurcumin-Loaded Dental Temporary Restorative Material

Introduction. The aim of this study was to prepare a temporary restorative material containing curcumin nanocrystals and to evaluate the physicochemical properties and the antimicrobial action against Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Materials and Methods. Dental temporary restorative material was physically mixed with curcumin nanocrystals at weight percentages of 80/20 and 70/30. The prepared materials were then subjected to the physicochemical tests: Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate possible bonds, X-ray diffraction (XRD) method to test the crystallinity pattern, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) method to study the morphology of the prepared materials. Besides, the release pattern of nanocurcumin from the temporary material was evaluated using drug dissolution USP apparatus II and UV spectrophotometer. For microbial evaluation, the disk diffusion method was used against the mentioned bacteria. Results. The results showed the homogenous mixing of nanocurcumin with the temporary restorative material. Nanocurcumin showed a two-stage release pattern from the temporary material, and both types of samples containing 20% and 30% nanocurcumin had antimicrobial action against all selected bacteria. Conclusion. Extensive cellular, animal, and clinical studies are needed to demonstrate the use of temporary restorative material containing antimicrobial nanoparticles.