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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

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Published on: January 25, 2019
Influence of composition on setting kinetics of new injectable and/or fast setting tricalcium silicate cements
H M Setbon1, J Devaux2, A Iserentant3
1Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research and Engineering on Biomaterials (CRIBIO), Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Objectives:
New commercial tricalcium silicate based cements were elaborated to improve handling properties and setting time. The goals of the present work were: (i) to determine the composition of the new injectable and/or fast setting calcium silicate based cements, and (ii) to investigate the impact of the differences in composition on their setting kinetics.
Methods:
The materials considered were Angelus MTA™, Biodentine™, MM-MTA™, MTA-Caps™, and ProRoot MTA™ as control. Elemental composition of materials was studied by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy and X-ray Energy Dispersive analysis, whereas phases in presence were analyzed by Micro-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction analysis and cement surface by Scanning Electron Microscope. Setting kinetics was evaluated using rheometry.
Results:
Elemental analysis revealed, for all cements, the presence of three major components: calcium, silicon and oxygen. Chlorine was detected in MM-MTA, MTA-Caps and Biodentine. Different radio-opacifiers were identified: bismuth oxide in ProRoot MTA, Angelus MTA and MM-MTA, zirconium oxide in Biodentine and calcium tungstate (CaWO4) in MTA-Caps. All cements were composed of di- and tri-calcium silicate, except Biodentine for which only the latter was detected. Major differences in setting kinetics were observed: a modulus of 8×10(8)Pa is reached after 12min for Biodentine, 150min for MM-MTA, 230min for Angelus MTA and 320min for ProRoot MTA. The maximum modulus reached by MTA-Caps was 7×10(8)Pa after 150min.
Significance:
Even if these cements possess some common compounds, major differences in their composition were observed between them, which directly influence their setting kinetics.
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