Effect of Argon Plasma Pretreatment on Tensile Bond Strength of a Silicone Soft Liner to Denture Base Polymers

This study evaluated the effect of argon plasma treatment on tensile bonding of heat-cured and auto-polymerized acrylic resins prior to the processing of a silicone soft liner. Both types of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resins were treated with argon plasma for 1min or 10min (n=5). A control group, including untreated resin specimens, was also formed. After processing of the soft liner, the specimens were deflasked and stored dry for 24h, and they were then subjected to tensile bond strength testing. In order to see the plasma effect on the resin surface chemistry, representative specimens were analysed by XPS. Highest tensile bond strengths were observed in the 1-min exposure group for each resin, and 10-min exposure yielded the lowest bond strength likely due to the damaging effect of the plasma treatment. XPS analysis showed that the O/C ratios increased greatly in treated samples and that the binding energy values were not significantly changed.