Gantrez s 97

Fluconazole was purchased from the Tokyo Chemical Industry (Tokyo, Japan). Eugenol was obtained from Bruno Court (Grasse, France). Chitosan (low molecular weight; 50–190 kDa), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA 99+% hydrolyzed; 89–98 kDa), PEG400, and Tween 80 were bought from Sigma-Aldrich (Dorset, UK). Gantrez^® S-97 (Poly-methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid; MW = 1500 Da) was purchased from Ashland Inc. (Surrey, UK). Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution was prepared from D-glucose (anhydrous) 1.0 g/L, NaCl 8.0 g/L, NaHCO₃ 0.35 g/L, Na₂HPO₄ (anhydrous) 0.04788 g/L, KCl 0.4 g/L, KH₂PO₄ (anhydrous) 0.06 g/L, MgSO₄ (anhydrous) 0.09767 g/L, and CaCl₂ dihydrate 0.185 g/L. All chemical agents were analytical reagent grade.

Six groups of 10 × 2 mm circular disks (n = 12) were prepared based on the manufacturer’s instructions with a previously fabricated plastic mold. Specific amounts of PMMA and Gantrez S-97 (Ashland Global, Wilmington, NC, USA) were weighed using an analytical scale with an accuracy of 0.0001 g (Table 5). A thin layer of petroleum jelly was first applied on the internal surfaces of the plastic mold. The volume of the liquid PMMA monomer was standardized using a graduated cylinder and was held constant throughout the experiment. This liquid monomer was then hand-mixed with the specific weights of PMMA and Gantrez from each group. Prior to adding the dry powders of PMMA and Gantrez to the liquid monomer, the powder was mixed by hand until homogenous. To adhere to the same procedure and maintain consistency throughout the samples, the control group with PMMA powder alone was also hand-mixed. The samples were then placed into a room temperature pressure pot (Aquapres™ Pressure Pot; Lang Dental Manufacturing Co., Wheeling, IL, USA) at 30 psi for 30 min. Finally, the samples were polished with 600, 800, and 1200-micron metallographic grinding paper (LECO Corporation, St. Joseph, MI, USA) until they were flat with smooth surfaces.