Evaluation of drug release, monomer conversion and surface properties of resin composites containing chlorhexidine‐loaded mesoporous and nonporous hydroxyapatite nanocarriers

The aim of this study was to evaluate drug release, degree of conversion (DC), and surface properties of resin composites containing chlorhexidine (CHX)‐loaded mesoporous (mHAP) and nonporous hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocarrier. CHX loaded mHAP and HAP, or CHX without nanocarrier was added into the resin composite in 1% and 5% concentrations. After characterization of experimental materials with XRD, EDX, FT‐IR, and SEM, the CHX release on the 1st, 7th, 30th, and 120th days were evaluated by UV–vis spectroscopy. DC, surface roughness, and surface hardness of the samples were also evaluated. The data was statistically analyzed. While mHAP groups released significantly higher CHX on the 30th day (p .05). DCs of all groups were similar (p > .05). While mHAP and HAP groups containing 5% CHX showed significantly higher roughness than the other groups (p .05). The 1% and 5% CHX groups without nanocarrier showed significantly lower surface hardness (p .05). A controlled CHX release was achieved by mHAP and HAP nanocarriers for 120 days. The nanocarrier addition up to 5% did not negatively affect the DC and the surface hardness which is one of the surface properties of the resin composites. Although the addition of 5% nanocarrier to the resin composite increased the surface roughness, while adding 1% of these nanocarriers did not change. The elution of antibacterial agents from the resin composite restorations may inhibit seconder caries. The use of nano‐carriers loaded with chlorhexidine may keep the antibacterial agent more stable in the resin mass. Mesoporous and nonporous hydroxyapatite nanocarriers can be good options as drug carriers. Drug‐loaded nanocarriers at appropriate concentrations may be incorporated into the resin composite without changing the physico‐chemical properties of the material.