Fracture toughness of heat cured dendure base acrylic resin modified with chlorhexidine and fluconazole as bioactive compounds

Purpose:The aims of this study were to incorporate two different types of bioactive compounds (chlorhexidine and fluconazole) into a conventional denture base acrylic resin (PMMA) and examine their effect on the fracture toughnessMaterials and methods:Randomized controlled trial was conducted in vitro to assess the fracture toughness of a conventional denture base acrylic resin (heat cured PMMA) after adding specific percentage (10% wt/wt) of chlorhexidine (CHX) and fluconazole (FLZ) powder seperately. 30 single edge-notched (SEN) specimens with specific dimensions (40mm x 8mm x 4mm, notch depth = 3mm) were fabricated from the mix and allocated to three gorups (Group A = control, Group B = 10% CHX and Group C = 10% FLZ). Fracture toughness test (3-point bending test) was executed for each sample and critical force (Fc) value and critical stress intensity factor (Kic) value were measured. Data was subject to parametric statistical analysis, ising oone-way ANOVA and Post Hoc Bonferroni tests (P=0.05).Results:The Kic values for each sample were obtained. MEan Kic values were 2.13 (SD=0.15), 1.46 (SD=0.13) and 2.13 (SD=0.113) for groups A, B and C respectively. FLZ powder in this percentage has no noticeable alteration on the fracture toughness of acrylic resin as the Kic values were almost comparable with the control group. On the other hand, CHX modified arylic resin has the lowest Lic values and the fracture toughness was significantly affected by its incorporation (P