Determination of Phase Transitions in Gutta-Percha by Differential Thermal Analysis
Pure gutta-percha was heat-treated in a differential thermal analyzer. The high melting form crystallized on cooling when gutta-percha was heated to 70 C or less. Above 74 C, crystallization into the low melting form predominated. Either polymorph can be selectively crystallized by control of the heat-treatment temperature before cooling.
Alpha- and beta-forms of gutta-percha in products for root canal filling.
AIM
This study was undertaken to evaluate which materials were in the alpha-form of gutta-percha as claimed, and which were in the more conventional beta-form, and to explore the effect of heating on the materials.


METHODOLOGY
Samples of gutta-percha without chemical additives, and dental gutta-percha formulations which included (i) two products previously studied; (ii) 12 newer products; and (iii) one newer product that had been stored at high temperature, were analysed by simultaneous differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry.


RESULTS
It was found that only four of the newer materials contained the alpha-form; all the rest comprised beta-gutta-percha. No weight loss was found for any material under the conditions of the present experiments. A typical heating cycle up to 130 degrees C caused changes in material behaviour - that is, on reheating fewer endothermic peaks were present. Storage of gutta-percha samples for 10 years under ambient temperature and storage in a heater at 80 degrees C appeared to have no effect on properties.


CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that heating dental gutta-percha to 130 degrees C causes physical changes; this was not seen with chemically pure gutta-percha. The presence of additives in the dental samples altered material behaviour.
An Ultrasensitive Analytical Method Based on Chemiluminescence Sensing Electrochemical Parallel Catalytic Reaction Event
An ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) method on the combination of electrochemical parallel catalytic reaction and chemiluminesence signal sensing was proposed for improving ECL analytical characteristics using vanadate(V) as a representative. Vanadate(V) could be electrochemically reduced to generate vanadate(II) which could be chemically oxidized by potassium periodate to regenerate vanadate(V) and give parallel catalytic wave effect. Then, the reduced product of potassium periodate could react with butyl-rhodamine B to emit a sensitive chemiluminescence signal. The chemiluminescence intensity was correlative with vanadate(V) concentration. The investigation on the electrochemical reaction rate constant (k0) confirmed that the speed of electrochemical reaction was faster than that of the subsequent chemiluminescence reaction. The possibility of the combination of electrochemical parallel catalytic reaction with chemiluminescence signal sensing was proved. The similar ECL behaviors could be observed at zirconia nanowires-Nafion modified electrode. Because of the separation and enrichment effect of the modified electrode on vanadate(V), the selectivity and sensitivity was further improved greatly. Based on these findings, a new concept on the combination of electrochemical parallel catalytic reaction and chemiluminesence signal sensing was proposed and an ultrasensitive ECL method for the determination of vanadate(V) was developed at zirconia nanowires-Nafion modified electrode. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the ECL intensity was linear with the concentration of vanadate(V) in the range of 2.0×10−12 mol/L–2.0×10−10 mol/L. The detection limit was 8.0×10−13 mol/L, which was more than 6 orders of magnitude lower than that observed by electrochemical current transduction for electrochemical parallel catalytic reaction at zirconia nanowires-Nafion modified electrode.