Effect of intrinsic pigmentation on the tear strength and water sorption of two commercially available silicone elastomers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the water sorption and tear strength of two commercially available silicone elastomers. Silicone test specimens with the dimension of 150 mm × 150 mm × 3 mm were prepared for cosmesil M511 silicone (Cosmedica Ltd, Cardiff, UK) and biomed silicone (MP Sai Enterprises, Mumbai, India). Sixty test specimens were divided equally into two groups-I and II. Group I and II were further subdivided into A, B, and C with 10 specimens each. Subgroup A represented the control group (without colorant), test specimens in subgroup B (incorporated with intrinsic pigments) were evaluated for tear strength, and subgroup C specimens, incorporated with intrinsic pigments were evaluated for water sorption. Students's t test was performed. Among the control group, cosmesil M511 silicone showed more tear strength with the mean of 11.42 ± 0.73 compared to biomed silicone which showed 6.64 ± 0.70. The tear strength values increased for both silicones after intrinsic pigmentation. Cosmesil M511 silicone showed more water sorption compared to biomed silicone. Medical grade cosmesil M511 silicone had better tear strength values compared to biomed silicone.