In vitro Cytotoxicity of Silver Nanoparticles Incorporated in a Soft Silicone Liner

Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) have recently been suggested to increase the antimicrobial properties of soft liner materials. However, their safety remains a matter of debate. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of Mucopren® soft silicone liner material (Mucopren; Kettenbach, Germany) incorporated in SNPs. The SNPs with over 98% purity were added to Mucopren in 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 weight percentage (wt%) concentrations and manually homogenized. The mixture of the pieces of Mucopren plus SNPs and SNPs alone were placed in 96-well plates containing Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium culture, FBS, and antibiotics with L929 fibroblasts. Cell viability and biocompatibility were determined after 1, 2, and 3 days of incubation using the methylthiazol tetrazolium assay. Optical density was read by an ELISA reader at 570 nm and compared to those of positive and negative controls. Among Mucopren mixed with different SNPs concentration, the cell toxicity had no significant difference in the same days, and cell toxicity decreased over time (P=0.016). The SNPs alone were less cytotoxic than Mucopren incorporated SNP samples (P>0.05). Within the limitations of this study, the addition of 0.5, 1, 2, and 3wt% concentrations of SNPs to Mucopren did not cause a significant change in its cell toxicity in an in vitro condition