Synopsis
The safety of mixed materials for the body cannot be evaluated based on the mean of the safety data of the individual component materials in many cases, and the toxicity level may markedly vary when the mixture is influenced by a synergistic effect. Many recent commercial products are mixed with nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are incorporated into cells through special mechanisms, such as phagocytosis, but only a few studies have reported the evaluation of mixtures with nanomaterials. Thus, we investigated changes in the cytotoxicity levels of dental metals (Ag, Cu, and Pd ions) in a mixture with a very small non-toxic amount of nano titanium dioxide or nano zinc oxide by measuring the cell survival rate. The cytotoxicity levels slightly changed in the presence of a very small amount of nano titanium dioxide or nano zinc oxide compared with those in the absence of the nanomaterials, although the changes were not marked. Investigation from the perspectives of various fields including other nanomaterials is expected.
Key words: cytotoxicity, mixing condition, nano titanium dioxide, nano zinc oxide, metal ion
