Evaluation of the physical and chemical properties of two commercial and three experimental root-end filling materials Rodrigo Ricci Vivan, a Ronald Ordinola Zapata, a Márcia A Zeferino, b Clovis Monteiro Bramante, c Norberti Bernardineli, c Roberto Brandão Garcia, c Marco Antonio Hungaro Duarte, c Mário Tanomaru Filho, d and Ivaldo Gomes de Moraes, c Bauru and Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil DENTAL SCHOOL OF BAURU, SAGRADO CORAÇÃO UNIVERSITY, AND DENTAL SCHOOL OF ARARAQUARA Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pH, calcium release, setting time, and solubility of two commercially available mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) cements (white MTA Angelus and MTA Bio), and of three experimental cements (light-cured MTA, Portland cement with 20% bismuth oxide and 5% calcium sulfate, and an epoxy resin– based cement). Study design. For evaluation of pH and calcium ion release, polyethylene tubes with 1.0 mm internal diameter and 10.0 mm length were filled with the cements and immediately immersed in flasks containing 10 mL deionized water. After 3, 24, 72, and 168 hours, the tubes were removed and the water from the previous container was measured for its pH and calcium content with a pH meter and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. For analysis of the setting time, Gilmore needles weighing 100 g and 456.5 g were used, in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials specification no. C266-03. Solubility of each cement was also tested. Results. All the cements were alkaline and released calcium ions, with a declining trend over time. After 3 hours, Portland cement + bismuth oxide and MTA Bio had the highest pH and light-cured MTA the lowest. After 1 week, MTA Bio had the highest pH and light-cured MTA and epoxy resin– based cement the lowest. Regarding calcium ion release, after 3 hours, Portland cement + bismuth oxide showed the highest release. After 1 week, MTA Bio had the highest. Epoxy resin– based cement and light-cured MTA had the lowest calcium release in all evaluation periods. Regarding setting times, white MTA Angelus and MTA Bio had the shortest, Portland cement + bismuth oxide had an intermediate setting time, and the epoxy resin– based cement had the longest. The materials that showed the lowest solubility values were the epoxy resin– based cement, Portland cement + bismuth oxide, and light-cured MTA. The highest solubility values were presented in white MTA Angelus and MTA Bio. Conclusions. The white MTA Angelus and MTA Bio had the shortest setting times, higher pH and calcium ion release, and the highest solubility. In contrast, the epoxy resin– based cement and light-cured MTA showed lower values of solubility, pH, and calcium ion release. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010;110:250-256) The desirable features for a root-end filling materials are dimensional stability, insolubility, radiopacity, easy of manipulation and insertion, adequate setting time, antimicrobial activity, biocompatibility, and the ability to stimulate tissue repair. 1 No root-end filling material has all of these features. Therefore, development of the ideal root-end filling material continues. Amalgam has a Postgraduate student in Endodontics, Department of Operative Den- tistry, Dental Materials and Endodontics, Dental School of Bauru, University of São Paulo. b Professor of Chemistry, Department of Health Sciences, Sagrado Coração University. c Professor of Endodontics, Department of Operative Dentistry, Den- tal Materials and Endodontics, Dental School of Bauru, University of São Paulo. d Professor of Endodontics, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Dental School of Araraquara, São Paulo State University. Received for publication Nov 11, 2009; returned for revision Apr 7, 2010; accepted for publication Apr 16, 2010. 1079-2104/$ - see front matter © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tripleo.2010.04.021 250 Vol. 110 No. 2 August 2010 ENDODONTOLOGY Editor: Larz S.W. Spångberg