Curing models for photoactivated resin composites

描述（由申请人提供）：光激活复合材料用于许多生物材料应用，但最常见的是作为牙科清洁剂。由于有限的光穿透和高聚合收缩，这些交联必须以增量建立以确保足够的物理性能（即，转化度和硬度）和在牙齿界面处的强附着力。我们假设可以建立并验证一个固化模型，该模型可以预测现实牙齿几何形状中光激活复合材料的物理特性。这种固化模型需要（1）了解复合材料的光学特性，（2）预测复合材料中的光剂量（辐照度W时间），以及（3）将传递的光剂量与固化复合材料的物理特性联系起来。我们假设复合材料的光学性质在固化过程中发生变化，并且复合材料的物理性质可以使用80%固化的阈值光剂量来预测。我们希望，一个有效的固化模型将提高复合材料配方如何影响固化的理解，并提供有关的固化过程中的复合材料的牙齿界面的关键信息。 为了验证我们的假设，我们将生产实验复合材料与已知的和不同的ller类型，大小和组成，单体配方，并与两种不同的光敏剂。固化和未固化的复合材料的光学性能将被测量和量化为光剂量的函数。将测量在不同辐照度和时间下固化的复合材料的物理性质，并将其与光剂量相关联，以确定80%固化阈值。光学性质测量和阈值将用于动态蒙特卡罗光传输模型中以预测物理性质。这些预测值将通过与已经用光固化复合材料修复的牙洞制备物进行比较来验证。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Light-activated composite materials are used in many biomaterial applications, but most commonly as dental restoratives. Due to limited light penetration and high polymerization shrinkage, these restorations must be built up in increments to ensure both adequate physical properties (i.e., degree of conversion and hardness) and strong adhesion at the tooth interface. We hypothesize that a curing model that predicts the physical properties of light-activated composites in realistic dental geometries can be made and validated. Such a curing model would require (1) knowing the optical properties of the composite, (2) predicting the light dose (irradiance W time) in the composite, and (3) relating the delivered light dose to the cured composite's physical properties. We hypothesize that the composite's optical properties change during curing and that the composite's physical properties can be predicted using a threshold light dose for 80% curing. We expect that a validated curing model will improve understanding of how composite formulation affects curing and provide crucial information about the curing process at the composite-tooth interface. To test our hypotheses, we will produce experimental composites with known and varied ller types, sizes and compositions, monomer formulations, and with two different photosensitizers. Optical properties of cured and uncured composites will be measured and quantified as a function of light dose. The physical properties of composites cured at different irradiances and times will be measured and correlated with light dose to determine the 80% curing threshold. The optical property measurements and thresholds will be used in a dynamic Monte Carlo light transport model to predict physical properties. These predicted values will be validated by comparison with dental cavity preparations that have been restored with photo-cured composites.