In situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles in resin monomers

Silver nanoparticles have good antibacterial efficacy. Attempts, with limited success, have been made to incorporate nanoparticles in resin dental materials. The present study aims to in situ synthesize silver nanoparticles in methacrylate-based monomers. Silver nitrate solution was used as a precursor for silver particles. A 50 mM solution of silver nitrate was added dropwise to 10mL of 2-(tert-butylamino) ethyl methacrylate under continous magnetic stirring to make the silver nanoparticles in the monomer solution. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis and scanning electron microscope. The data revealed that nanoparticles, ranging from 5-10nm, were formed with minimal aggregation. This technique can be used to incorporate silver nanoparticles in dental resin materials.