Effect of nanostructured silica particles on the controlled drug release behavior of dental composite materials

In this study, we investigated the drug-release behavior of a dental glass-ionomer cement composite containing nanostructured silica particles (GIC-NPS). When 5.0 wt% NPS was incorporated, the specimens continued to elute a positively charged model drug for more than two weeks after immersion. In contrast, specimens without silica particles exhibited rapid elution of the model drug. These results indicated that the presence of NPS enabled excellent sustained drug release, particularly for charged compounds. Therefore, NPS can act as an effective drug carrier, and optimizing NPS content may facilitate the development of novel materials for sustained drug release in the future..