ELS Dental Composite Shows High Biocompatibility in Cell Study

Purpose

To evaluate how biocompatible the ELS extra low shrinkage dental composite is in vitro, using a sensitive imaging method: 3D Time‑Lapse Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (3D‑CLSM). In particular, seeing how human gingival fibroblast cells react over time when exposed to extracts of the composite. PMC+1

Methods

• Material / Test Subject: Primary human gingival fibroblast cells. PMC+1
• Composite under study: ELS extra low shrinkage composite, used in direct restorations. PMC+1
• Extraction: The composite was placed in culture medium to generate “composite extracts” (i.e. soluble components leached out) which were then applied to the cells. PMC
• Staining: Live/Dead cell viability staining (green = live, red = dead) to distinguish viable vs non‑viable cells. PMC+1
• Imaging:
  • 3D CLSM used to capture both surface and subsurface of the cell cultures. PMC+1
  • Time‑lapse imaging over up to 5 hours to track changes in viability over time. PMC+1
  • Image analysis software was used to quantify ratios of live vs dead cells (green vs red fluorescence), and change over time. PMC

Findings

• After 5 hours of exposure, there was a slight decrease in cell viability when cells were exposed to the composite extracts, compared to control (no extract). PMC+1
• Specifically, the drop was from ~ 100% live cells in the control, to about 87‑94% viability across the 1‑5 hour period when exposed to ELS extracts. PMC
• There were no significant morphological changes in the cells: they maintained their typical spindle‑shaped fibroblast form in both control and exposed groups. PMC
• The red fluorescence (dead cell indicator) signal increased very slightly over time in the extract‑exposed cells, but remained low; green (live‐cell) signal decreased slightly. Overall, cytotoxicity was assessed as very slight under these test conditions. PMC

Conclusions & Implications

• The ELS extra low shrinkage composite shows good cytocompatibility in these in vitro tests under the conditions studied: very low toxic effects over a 5‑hour exposure of fibroblast cells. PMC+1
• The method used (3D time‑lapse CLSM imaging + live/dead staining) is effective for detecting small changes in viability over time, hence useful for biocompatibility evaluation of dental materials. PMC
• While these results are positive, they are limited to short‑term exposure in vitro; for clinical relevance, longer‑term exposure, more cell types (e.g. pulp, immune), and whole‑organism compatibility (in vivo) would need assessment. PMC

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