Composites of poly(lactide‐ co ‐glycolide) and the surface modified carbonated hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

To improve the mechanical properties of the composites of poly(lactide‐ co ‐glycolide) (PLGA, LA/GA = 80/20) and the carbonate hydroxyapatite (CHAP) particles, the rice‐form or claviform CHAP particles with 30–40 nm in diameter and 100–200 nm in length were prepared by precipitation method. The uncalcined CHAP particles have a coarse surface with a lot of global protuberances, which could be in favor of the interaction of the matrix polymer to the CHAP particles. The nanocomposites of PLGA and surface grafted CHAP particles (g‐CHAP) were prepared by solution mixing method. The structure and properties of the composites were subsequently investigated by the emission scanning electron microscopy, the tensile strength testing, and the cell culture. When the contents of g‐CHAP were in the range of 2–15 wt %, the PLGA/g‐CHAP nanocomposites exhibited an improved elongation at break and tensile strength. At the 2 wt % content of g‐CHAP, the fracture strain was increased to 20% from 4–5% for neat PLGA samples. Especially at g‐CHAP content of 15 wt %, the tensile strength of PLGA/g‐CHAP composite was about 20% higher than that of neat PLGA materials. The tensile moduli of composites were increased with the increasing of filler contents, so that the g‐CHAP particles had both reinforcing and toughening effects on the PLGA composites. The results of biocompatibility test showed that the higher g‐CHAP contents in PLGA composite facilitated the adhesion and proliferation properties of osteoblasts on the PLGA/g‐CHAP composite film. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2007