Evaluation of dental composites resins formulated with non-toxic monomers derived from catechol

Two liquid monomers (CT-AL and CT-ACR) were synthesized from the acylation of tert-butyl catechol with different acid chlorides. The monomers were used to prepare photopolymerizable dental composite for completely replacing TEGDMA. Properties such as flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, degree of double bond conversion, polymerization shrinkage, as well as the polymerization stress were studied. Also, color alteration, translucency, and cytotoxicity were evaluated. The results show that the experimental materials formulated with CT-AL and CT-ACR have similar mechanical properties to a control material formulated with BisGMA/TEGDMA, similar polymerization shrinkage, and less polymerization stress. The composite formulated with the CT-AL monomer shows a similar degree of conversion (72%), while the composite formulated with the CT-ACR monomer has a degree of conversion lower (58%) than the control resin (71%). These results suggest that both monomers could have potential applications in the formulation of composites for dental restorations.