Objective: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate antibacterial activity of a new resin based sealer, EndoREZ in comparison with 5 other sealers: AH 26, Diaket, Sultan, Apexit, and RoekoSeal.
Study design: The effect of 6 different sealers on the growth of 3 bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) was measured using the agar diffusion test (ADT) and direct contact test (DCT). For ADT, 200 microL bacterial suspensions were spread on agar plates and freshly mixed sealers were applied to uniform wells punched in the agar. The zones of inhibition of bacterial growth were measured at 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, and 10 days. For DCT, 2 sets of sealers were prepared: fresh and 24-hour samples. Fresh samples were used within 20 minutes of mixing time while 24-hour samples were allowed to set in a humid atmosphere at 37 degrees C for 24 hours before testing. Sealers were mixed and placed on the walls of microtiter plate wells and 10-microL bacterial suspensions were allowed to directly contact the sealers for 1 hour. Fresh media were added and 15 microL were transferred from this plate to another plate containing fresh medium (215 microL). Bacterial growth of this last plate was then measured using spectrophotometer every hour over 16 hours.
Results: ADT results indicated that EndoREZ, Apexit, and RoekoSeal did not show any antibacterial activity. In DCT results, AH 26 and Sultan were potent bacterial growth inhibitors.
Conclusion: EndoREZ is not as potent a bacterial growth inhibitor as Sultan and AH 26.