Biologic testing of leachable aromatic compounds from denture base materials

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Toxicology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Aromatic compounds like phenyl benzoate (PB), phenyl salicylate (PS), and biphenyl (BP) can leach from poly(methyl methacrylate) denture bases.
• Understanding the biologic effects of these leached compounds is crucial for dental material safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the cytotoxicity and biologic effects of PB, PS, and BP on L929 cells.
• To investigate the relationship between lipophilicity and the bioavailability of these aromatic compounds in cell culture.

Main Methods:

• Assessed cytotoxicity using total cell growth and plating efficiency tests.
• Analyzed biologic effects by examining the total fatty acid composition of L929 cells.
• Determined the octanol-water partition coefficient (log P(ow)) to quantify lipophilicity.

Main Results:

• Standard cytotoxicity tests (cell growth, plating efficiency) did not reveal significant adverse effects from the tested compounds.
• Biphenyl (BP) and phenyl salicylate (PS) significantly altered the total fatty acid composition of L929 cells.
• Lipophilicity was considered in the context of compound bioavailability in the cell culture system.

Conclusions:

• While lacking overt cytotoxicity, leached aromatic compounds from denture materials can induce subtle biologic changes at the cellular level.
• Fatty acid composition analysis provides a more sensitive measure of cellular response to these compounds than traditional cytotoxicity assays.
• The findings underscore the importance of assessing lipophilicity and bioavailability for accurate interpretation of cell culture data in biomaterial research.