As part of a program to evaluate the use of stray-field magnetic resonance microimaging (STRAFI) in dental materials research spatially resolved nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for solid dental cements has been investigated. By applying a quadrature echo pulse sequence to a specimen positioned in the stray-field of a NMR spectrometer superconducting magnet the magnetic resonance within a thin slice was obtained. The specimen was stepped through the field in 500 microm increments to record 1H and 19F profiles and T2 values at each point. The specimens were fully cured cylinders made from four types of restorative material (glass ionomer, resin modified glass ionomer, compomer, composite). The values for 1H T2 varied with material type and reflected the nature of the matrix structure. For all materials containing 19F in the glass two values were calculated for 19F T2, one short and one long. These were relatively invariant. Solid state magic angle spinning (MAS)-NMR showed that they came from the glass. This suggests that a proportion of the element is relatively mobile (in a glass phase) and the remainder is more tightly bound (in a compound dispersed in the glass). This demonstration, that NMR microimaging of both 1H and 19F in solid dental cements is possible, opens up exciting new possibilities for investigating the distribution of these elements (in particular fluorine) in solid dental materials.
Copyright 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers