Abstract
Bone cement, frequently based on poly (methyl methacrylate), is commonly used in different arthroplasty surgical procedures and its use is essential for prosthesis fixation. However, its manufacturing process reaches high temperatures (up to 120 °C), producing necrosis in the patients’ surrounding tissues. To help avoid this problem, the addition of graphene could delay the polymerisation of the methyl methacrylate as it could, simultaneously, favour the optimisation of the composite material’s properties. In this work, we address the effect of different percentages of highly reduced graphene oxide with different wt.% (0.10, 0.50, and 1.00) and surface densities (150, 300, 500, and 750 m2/g) on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of commercial poly (methyl methacrylate)-based bone cement and its processing. It was noted that a lower sintering temperature was achieved with this addition, making it less harmful to use in surgery and reducing its adverse effects. In contrast, the variation of the density of the materials did not introduce significant changes, which indicates that the addition of highly reduced graphene oxide would not significantly increase bone porosity. Lastly, the mechanical properties (strength, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness) were reduced by almost 20%. Nevertheless, their typical values are high enough that these new materials could still fulfil their structural function. In conclusion, this paper presents a way to control the sintering temperature, without significant degradation of the mechanical performance, by adding highly reduced graphene oxide so that local necrosis of bone cement based on poly (methyl methacrylate) used in surgery is avoided.
Highlights
Bone cement, which consists of a broad range of different materials, is commonly used as a structural adhesive to fix replacement prostheses when the bone is damaged [1,2]
The implantation of prostheses has become an increasingly common practice throughout the world, both due to the rise and ageing of the population and the higher incidence of pathologies such as obesity [4], arthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and others
These materials are sintered directly in the operating room in two phases: (i) the solid phase, with poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) as the main bone cement compound, benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the initiating agent, and barium sulphate (BaSO4) as a radio-opacifying agent to allow it to be detected on control radiographs; and (ii) the liquid phase, with the monomer methyl methacrylate (MMA), N, N-dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMPT) as the accelerator, and hydroquinone as the stabiliser or inhibitor of the polymerisation reaction
Summary
Bone cement, which consists of a broad range of different materials, is commonly used as a structural adhesive to fix replacement prostheses when the bone is damaged [1,2]. As the path of the crack increases and becomes more protracted and more tortuous, the energy necessary for the crack to grow and propagate increases [23,24,25] Within this context, this work analyses the effect of the addition of different percentages of graphene (0.10%, 0.50%, and 1.00%) and several specific surface densities (150, 300, 500, and 750 m2/g) on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties, as well as on the processing, of commercial PMMA-based bone cement. AAltlthhoouugghhtthheecchhaarrggeewwaassininitiitaiallylymmaaininttaainineeddffoorr2200mminintotofofolllolowwththeepprerpepaararatitoionn titmimeessininddicicaateteddbbyytthheemmaannuuffaacctuturreer,r,ititwwaassoobbsseerrvveeddththaattththeeggrraapphheenneeccoonntetennttininflfulueenncceedd ththeeppoolylymmeerrisisaatitoionntitmimee. .TThheerreefoforere, ,ininssoommeeccaasseess, ,ititwwaassnneecceesssaaryrytotommaainintataininththeecchhaargrgee ffoorrmmoorerethtahnan242h4 uhnutinl tihlethenedenodf thofe tphoelypmoleyrmsyenrthsyensitsh.eOsinsc. eOtnhceedtehseireddesitraetde osftathtee obfonthee cbeomneenctewmaesnrteawcahsedre, athcheeldo,adthwe alosardemwoavserde,mthoevbedon, ethceemboennet dcemtaecnhteddefrtaocmhetdhefrmomoultdh,e amndouthlde,manadtetrhiael mwatsesrtiaolrewdaisnshtoerremdeitnichalelrymsetailceadllyPEseTazleipd bPaEgTs zaitproboamgstaetmropoemrattuerme pfoeroanteuryeeaforrboefnoereyteeasrtibnegf.oTreabtleest3insgh.oTwasbtlhee3spsheociwfics cthoemsppoescitifioicncaonmdpnoosmitieonnclaantudrenoumseednfcolaretaucrhe oufstehdefnoirneeanchewofmthaenunifnacetunerewdmmaanteurfiaaclstu. red materials
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