Cytotoxic effect of elements released clinically from gold and CAD-CAM fabricated ceramic crowns

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of elements released from gold and CAD-CAM fabricated ceramic crowns. Materials and methods: According to the determination of elements released from gold alloy and CAD-CAM fabricated ceramic crowns into saliva of fixed prosthodontic patients by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, similar amounts of elements (Au, Pd, Ag, Zn, Cu, Al, Si) were prepared as salt solutions. A well without any tested element was used as a negative control. These salt solutions were tested for cytotoxicity by culturing mouse L-929 fibroblasts for a 7-day period of incubation. Then, the percentage of viable cells for each element was measured using trypan blue exclusion assay. The data (n = 5) were statistically analyzed by ANOVA/Tukey test (p 0.05). Results: The lowest percentage of viable cells (Mean ± SD) was evident with Zn and Cu released from gold crowns indicating that they are the most toxic elements. Ag was found to be intermediate in cytotoxic effect. Au, Pd, Al, Si were found to be the least cytotoxic elements. Conclusion: Zn and Cu released from gold alloy full crowns showed evidence of prominent cytotoxic effect on fibroblasts cell cultures.