Preliminary In Vitro Evaluation of Vitamin E (α-Tocopherol) Incorporation on Cytotoxicity, Antifungal Activity, and Surface Roughness of Denture Acrylic Soft Liner.

BACKGROUND

Denture soft liners are widely used in prosthodontics to improve patient comfort by cushioning the interface between the denture base and oral mucosa. However, clinical durability can be compromised by elevated surface roughness and adverse biological responses, including cytotoxicity and fungal colonization. Antioxidant supplementation-particularly with vitamin E (α-tocopherol)-has been proposed as a strategy to enhance both the biocompatibility and surface quality of these materials.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A commercially available chairside acrylic soft liner was modified with vitamin E at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 wt.%, alongside an unmodified control group. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT cell viability assay on Vero cells, antifungal activity against Candida albicans was assessed through the agar diffusion method, and surface roughness was quantified with a calibrated profilometer. All data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test at p ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

Vitamin E incorporation produced a statistically significant, concentration-dependent effect on both cell viability and surface roughness. The 0.2 wt.% group demonstrated the highest cell viability (48.0 ± 6.1%) and the lowest surface roughness (2.80 ± 0.23 µm) among all groups. Cell viability declined at 0.5 wt.%, yet remained significantly higher than the unmodified control. No antifungal inhibition zones were detected in any vitamin E-modified group.

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin E incorporation improved selected biological and surface characteristics of the tested acrylic denture soft liner in a concentration-dependent manner. The 0.2 wt.% formulation demonstrated the most favorable in vitro performance among the tested groups. However, these findings are preliminary, and comprehensive mechanical and physical evaluation is required before any clinical relevance or application can be established.