Photopolymerization study and adhesive properties of self-etch adhesives containing bis(acyl)phosphine oxide initiator

Objective. This paper investigates the photo-co-polymerization behavior of a blend of a diacrylamide (DEBAAP) with a phosphonylated acidic monomer using either bis(acyl)phosphine oxide or camphorquinone/amine as photo-initiator and studies the effect of variation of the structure of the phosphonylated acidic monomer on the shear bond strength to human dentin. Methods. Photopolymerization kinetics has been assessed through the use of photo-DSC with either initiating system and with and without a phosphonic acid monomer, while the shear bond strengths (SBS) of dentin bonding agents formulated with several phosphonylated acidic monomers have been evaluated by macro SBS testing on human dentin. Results. Photo-DSC results show that bis(acyl)phosphine oxide initiates a faster polymerization than camphorquinone/amine and that both photopolymerizations are accelerated by the phosphonic acid monomer. Similar results were obtained between adhesives based on camphorquinone/amine and a commercial adhesive (AdheSE, Ivoclar-Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein). The best performances were obtained when BAPO was used as the initiator, in many cases far better than the commercial adhesive. Adhesive SEA6 based on difluoromethylphosphonic acid C demonstrated the best adhesion results of this study. Significance The bis(acyl)phosphine oxide photo-initiator causes faster photopolymerization of two-step self-etching dental adhesive, and its use could yield better bonding performance. (C) 2016 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.