Objective To explore a simple but novel method of strengthening gypsum material by cyanoacrylate infil-tration. To evaluate the influence of cyanoacrylate on the mechanical properties of dental gypsum models.Methods Gypsum specimens were polished to the dimension of 35 mm×4 mm×4 mm. Butyl-cyanoacrylate was diluted with chloroform at different concentrations, namely 20% and 30% cyanoacrylate. Gypsum specimens were infiltrated by diluting one component of cyanoacrylate at different concentrations for 8 h and then dried for analysis. The changes in elastic modulus, fracture toughness, compressive strength, biaxial strength, brinell hardness were measured. The data were analyzed using software OriginPro 8.Results The viscosity measurements indicated that diluted cyanoacrylate were Newtonian fluids and the viscosity increased slightly within the 48 hours of preparation but still similar as water at room temperature, which could be used to infiltrating gypsum. The gypsum infiltrated with cyanoacrylate exhibited good physicochemical properties. The biaxial strength, fracture toughness, compressive strength and brinell hardness of the gypsum were improved by 39%, 30%, 63% and 18%, respectively.Conclusion Cyanoacrylate can significantly improve the strength of gypsum model which indicates the potential clinical application.
