Biocompatibility of dental materials in two human cell lines

It was the aim of this study to investigate the biocompatibility of metallic (titan, gold, amalgam) and ceramic dental materials in contact with gingival (GF) and epithelial tumour cells (EpiCa). The cells were incubated with the test specimens (5 mg/piece) over a period of six days. Cellular proliferation rate, protein synthesis, and prostaglandin release (PGE2) served as parameters to determine the biocompatibility of the materials. - The investigations showed that the protein values were subject to slight variations following contact with the dental materials. Incubation of the cells with the test materials resulted in material dependent increases in PGE2-values (GF/EpiCa: titan: 187.4%, 131.0%; ceramic: 151.5%, 176.4%; gold: 114.5%, 123.8%; amalgam 150.6%, 159.8%). A comparison of control cells and cells of the test series (GF/EpiCa) after cell stimulation with 10-5M arachidonic acid (AA) showed the following changes in PGE2 on contact with titan (110.0%, 167.5%), ceramic (98.7%, 188.9%), gold (119.5%, 153.1%), and amalgam (68.9%, 179.5%). - Measurement of the proliferation rate (24 hours) further demonstrated that the dental materials used exerted an influence on the growth rates. While amalgam was associated with a marked reduction in the proliferation rate, titan, gold and ceramic induced only slight changes in the growth rate. - The results of the present study demonstrate that the cell culture systems used represent suitable in vitro models for the investigation of the biocompatibility of dental materials. The level of cell irritation was shown to be lowest for titan, closely followed by ceramic and gold. Cell culture; prostaglandin release; titan; ceramic; amalgam