title: Hierarchical structure and mechanical properties of remineralized dentin.
abstract: It is widely accepted that the mechanical properties of dentin are significantly determined by its hierarchical structure. The current correlation between the mechanical properties and the hierarchical structure was mainly established by studying altered forms of dentin, which limits the potential outcome of the research. In this study, dentins with three different hierarchical structures were obtained via two different remineralization procedures and at different remineralization stages: (1) a dentin structure with amorphous minerals incorporated into the collagen fibrils, (2) a dentin with crystallized nanominerals incorporated into the collagen fibrils, and (3) a dentin with an out-of-order mineral layer filling the collagen fibrils matrix. Nanoindentation tests were performed to investigate the mechanical behavior of the remineralized dentin slides. The results showed that the incorporation of the crystallized nanominerals into the acid-etched demineralized organic fibrils resulted in a remarkable improvement of the mechanical properties of the dentin. In contrast, for the other two structures, i.e. the amorphous minerals inside the collagen fibrils and the out-of-order mineral layer within the collagen fibrils matrix, the excellent mechanical properties of dentin could not be restored.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Collage of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biopathways and Biomaterials and Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Collage of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Collage of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Caiyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Collage of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biopathways and Biomaterials and Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Haihua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biopathways and Biomaterials and Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Ruikang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Collage of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China. Electronic address: guxh@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D003094:Collagen; D003804:Dentin / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; C006903:carbopol 940; D003094:Collagen
keywords: Biomimetic remineralization; Collagen fibrils; Mechanical behavior; Nanoindentation; Polyacrylic acid