Evaluation of mechanical properties of glass ionomer cement incorporated with zirconia nanotubes: An in vitro study

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the mechanical properties of Glass ionomer cement (GIC) modified with varying concentrations of Zirconia nanotubes (ZNTs). Different proportions (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 5.0% by weight) of ZNTs were added to the GIC powder to prepare a total of 200 specimens, divided into five groups of 40 specimens according to modifications. The eight specimens from each group (n=8) were allocated for testing each mechanical property. The mechanical properties investigated were compressive strength (CS), diametral tensile strength (DTS), flexural strength (FS), shear bond strength (SBS), and microhardness. CS, DTS, FS, and SBS were measured using the universal testing machine, while microhardness was assessed using a Vickers hardness tester. The GIC modified with 0.5 Wt% ZNTs exhibited the highest CS, DTS, and FS values. The highest Vickers hardness was observed with the 1.0 Wt% ZNTs group. However, all ZNT-modified groups showed lower SBS values compared to the control group. The findings suggest that incorporating 0.5 Wt% % ZNTs significantly enhances the CS, DTS, and FS of GIC, while 1.0 Wt% ZNTs improves microhardness. However, ZNTs' incorporation negatively affects the SBS.