Fabrication and Biological Analysis of Highly Porous PEEK Bionanocomposites Incorporated with Carbon and Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles for Biological Applications.

P. D. Swaminathan,Ramazan Asmatulu,Md. Nizam Uddin,P. Wooley

doi:10.3390/molecules25163572

P. D. Swaminathan, Ramazan Asmatulu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25163572

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Journal: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)	Publication Date: Aug 6, 2020
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Wichita State University

Abstract

Bone regeneration for replacing and repairing damaged and defective bones in the human body has attracted much attention over the last decade. In this research, highly porous polyetheretherketone (PEEK)/hydroxyapatite (HA) bionanocomposite scaffolds reinforced with carbon fiber (CF) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated, and their structural, mechanical, and biological properties were studied in detail. Salt porogen (200–500 µm size) leaching methods were adapted to produce porous PEEK structures with controlled pore size and distribution, facilitating greater cellular infiltration and biological integration of PEEK composites within patient tissue. In biological tests, nanocomposites proved to be non-toxic and have very good cell viability. In addition, bone marrow cell growth was observed, and PEEK/HA biocomposites with carbon particles showed increased cell attachment over the neat PEEK/HA composites. In cell viability tests, bionanocomposites with 0.5 wt% CNTs established good attachment of cells on disks compared to neat PEEK/HA biocomposites. A similar performance was seen in culture tests of bone marrow cells (osteoblasts and osteoclasts). The 0.5 wt% CF for osteoblasts and 1 wt% CNTs for osteoclasts showed higher cell attachment. The addition of carbon-based nanomaterials into PEEK/HA has been identified as an effective approach to improve cell attachment as well as mechanical and biological properties. With confirmed cell attachment and sustained viability and proliferation of the fabricated PEEK/HA/CNTs, CF bionanocomposites were confirmed to possess excellent biocompatibility and will have potential uses in bone scaffolding and other biomedical applications.

Highlights

Research on the use of nano-biomaterials for orthopedic applications has recently gained considerable attention
To address scaffold biodegradability and biocompatibility issues, this study focuses on the fabrication, characterization, and biological properties of highly porous PEEK/HA bionanocomposites incorporating
Incorporating a higher amount of carbon particles into PEEK reduced the mechanical properties. This may be due to the agglomeration of the carbon particles and lack of matrix support, which act as stress raisers in the structure

Summary

Introduction

Research on the use of nano-biomaterials for orthopedic applications has recently gained considerable attention. A complex porous composite with unique properties of remodeling, can adapt its microstructure to external mechanical stress. Incorporating nanocomposites as bone scaffolds has great potential and could be a viable solution for these issues. Bone scaffolds must be highly porous and provide support to the skeleton. They serve as a template for bone regeneration and must biodegrade at the rate of bone growth [3,4,5]. Bioresorbable scaffolds, i.e., porous constructs, seeded with appropriate types of cells should provide a template for tissue regeneration, while slowly resorbing to leave no foreign substances in the body and thereby reducing the risk of inflammation

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