Cytotoxicity of Etch-and-Rinse, Self-Etch, and Universal Dental Adhesive Systems in Fibroblast Cell Line 3T3

The aim of this study was to evaluate in fibroblast cultures the direct cytotoxic effects of etch-and-rinse, self-etch, and universaladhesive systems. The sterile glass cover slips (𝑛=3) were then immersed in culture medium to obtain the eluates for theexperimental groups: (1) AdperSingle Bond 2; (2) Ambar; (3) AdperScotchbondMulti-Purpose; (4) ScotchbondUniversal;(5) Ambar Universal; and (6) OptiBond All-In-One. As a negative control, sterile glass cover slips were immersed in culture mediumonly. After 24 h, the eluate obtained was applied on fibroblast culture. Cell viability and cell morphology were evaluated by MTTassayandSEM,respectively.DatawereanalyzedbyKruskal–WallisandMann–Whitneytests(𝛼=0.05). All adhesive systemsexcept universal reduced cell viability in 3T3 cells to between 26.04% and 56.57%, and Scotchbond Universal and Ambar Universalreduced cell viability to 2.13% and 3.57%, respectively, when compared to the negative control. Cytoplasmic membrane shrinkageand cell-free areas with residual membrane fragments from dead cells were observed. In conclusion, improvements in universaladhesive system formulations and their mechanisms of action are not accompanied by increased toxicity compared with those inother systems, warranting commitment to the use of these dentin-pulp complexes.