Human dental pulp stem cell response to a novel photoinitiator for resin‐based dental materials

Abstract This study aimed to assess the cytotoxicity of a novel polymerization initiator, tert ‐butyl ( tert ‐butyldimethylsilyl) glyoxylate (DKSi), and its effect on cytokine release by human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs), compared with camphorquinone (CQ) and diphenyl(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide (TPO). hDPSCs were isolated from healthy third molars, seeded in 96‐well plates, and exposed to initiators diluted in dimethyl sulfoxide (0.1–6 mM) for 24 h. Mitochondrial metabolism was assessed by the MTT assay, and cytokine release (interleukin‐1 beta, interleukin‐6 [IL‐6], interleukin‐8 [IL‐8], interleukin‐10, and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF‐α]) was analyzed using the MAGPIX system. Untreated cells served as controls, and data were analyzed using two‐way anova and Tukey's test. All compounds showed low toxicity at lower concentrations, whereas 6 mM caused the greatest reduction in mitochondrial metabolism. DKSi also exhibited significant toxicity at 4 mM. Unlike CQ and TPO, DKSi did not promote cytokine release. TPO upregulated all cytokines tested, and CQ increased TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐8. DKSi showed significant cytotoxicity only at high concentrations and a more limited modulation of cytokine release than CQ and TPO. These findings provide an initial biological characterization of DKSi and support its further investigation as a potential photoinitiator for dental resin formulations.