Laser Technology of Designing Nanocomposite Implants of the Knee Ligaments

Abstract

We describe a laser method for constructing a biocompatible implant of the knee ligaments based on synthetic-braided fiber structure of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coated with a nanocomposite coating. A coating based on albumin aqueous dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was applied to the synthetic fibers using ultrasound and then formed by laser evaporation of the aqueous dispersion component. The structure of the nanocomposite implants was studied by optical and atomic force microscopy. Composite implant based on single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) contains pores with a diameter of 10–20 nm, and based on multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs)—40–60 nm. We conducted in vitro studies of proliferative activity of human fibroblast cells (HFb) during their colonization on the surface of the implant and into the space between synthetic fibers. The highest value of the HFb proliferation was observed on the implant based on MWCNTs with a large pore size and amounted to 55.435 pcs., in contrast to the implant based on SWCNTs (54.931 pcs.) and control one (54.715 pcs.), as shown by fluorescence microscopy and MTT test. A histological study of the interaction of the nanocomposite implant implanted into rabbit knee joint with bone canal was carried out. The bone germination in the implantation area at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery was shown.