Monteiro, DiogoBarbier, MargotDelgado, António H. S.Gonçalves, LuísaChaves-Ferreira, MiguelCruz, Joana Vasconcelos ePolido, Mário2026-04-272026-04-272025-12Diogo Monteiro, Margot Barbier, António HS Delgado, Luísa Gonçalves, Miguel Chaves-Ferreira, Joana Vasconcelos e Cruz, Mário Polido, A multifunctional dendrimer for BPA-free dental adhesives: Polymerization behavior and cytotoxic profile of G-IEMA, International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives, Volume 143, 2025, 104162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2025.1041620143-7496http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/62897To determine whether substituting Bis-GMA for dendritic macromer G-IEMA in a universal adhesive alters real-time cure/post-cure performance and in-vitro cytotoxicity. Polymerization kinetics of five neat monomers (Bis-GMA, G-IEMA, UDMA, TEGDMA, HEMA) and four adhesives, two commercial controls (Scotchbond Universal, Futurabond M+) and two experimental formulations differing only in the base monomer, EXP-BIS vs. EXP-G, with 25 wt% of Bis-GMA or G-IEMA, respectively, were monitored by real-time ATR-FTIR for 20 min cure/post-cure (n = 3). Key outputs were final degree of conversion (DCmax), maximum polymerization rate (Rpmax) and half-time (t0.5). Cytocompatibility was assessed on primary human dental-pulp cells via 24 h MTT and propidium-iodide (PI) assays using extracts of polymerized and non-polymerized specimens (n = 12). Among homopolymers, DCmax did not differ (one-way ANOVA, p = 0.24) while Rp,max did (p < 0.0001), with G-IEMA and TEGDMA faster than Bis-GMA; t0.5 was similar (p = 0.15). Across adhesives, DCmax (p = 0.06), Rpmax (p = 0.89) and t0.5 (p = 0.27) were comparable; EXP-GI reached the highest DCmax (≈89 %). G-IEMA was less cytotoxic than Bis-GMA in both assays: MTT +20 % and +51 % in non-polymerized and polymerized extracts, respectively; PI −40 % and −54 % (all pairwise p < 0.01). For adhesive extracts, MTT showed a main effect of adhesive (two-way ANOVA, p < 0.001) but no treatment effect/interaction; relative to Scotchbond, EXP-GI supported +6.7 % (non-polymerized) and +18.2 % higher metabolic activity, while all adhesives remained below the control (p < 0.001). After polymerization, EXP-GI exhibited 17 % lower apoptosis than Scotchbond (p = 0.049) and 11 % lower than Futurabond (p < 0.05). G-IEMA can replace Bis-GMA without compromising cure efficiency or increasing acute cytotoxicity, supporting its use in BPA-free universal adhesives.engDendrimerG-IEMAUniversal adhesivePolymerization kineticsCytotoxicityBis-GMA substitutecontribution to journal10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2025.104162