Color stability of acrylic resin adhesives with different initiation modes

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the color stability of two acrylic resin adhesives with different activation systems: a benzoyl peroxide (BPO)-amine redox system and a tri-n-butylborane (TBB) derivative system. The colorimetric values of the two resins in different shades (Clear and Ivory) were determined (n=5) 24 hours after polymerization as a baseline using the L*a*b* system of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE). The specimens were thereafter immersed in distilled water, and the color difference (deltaE*) values were calculated. After 24 weeks, the TBB-initiated material showed a significantly (p<0.05) lower color change than the BPO-amine-initiated material. The deltaE* values for the BPO-amine-initiated materials were 6.9 for Clear and 15.8 for Ivory, whereas those for the TBB-initiated materials were 1.3 and 1.8 respectively. Thus, it was concluded that the TBB-initiated material had superior color stability to that of the BPO-amine-initiated material.