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Biomedical nanocomposites of poly(lactic acid) and calcium phosphate hybridized with modified carbon nanotubes for hard tissue implants
Author(s) -
Lee HaeHyoung,
Sang Shin Ueon,
Lee JaeHo,
Kim HaeWon
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.31846
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , carbon nanotube , biopolymer , polymer , ultimate tensile strength , nanoparticle , lactic acid , chemical engineering , hybrid material , composite material , nanotechnology , biology , bacteria , engineering , genetics
Degradable polymer‐based materials are attractive in orthopedics and dentistry as an alternative to metallic implants for use as bone fixatives. Herein, a degradable polymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was combined with novel hybrid nanopowder of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)‐calcium phosphate (CP) for this application. In particular, CNTs‐CP hybrid nanopowders (0.1 and 0.25% CNTs) were prepared from the solution of ionically modified CNTs ( m CNTs), which was specifically synthesized to be well‐dispersed and thus to effectively adsorb onto the CP nanoparticles. The m CNTs‐CP hybrid nanopowders were then mixed with PLA (up to 50%) to produce m CNTs‐CP‐PLA nanocomposites. The mechanical tensile strength of the nanocomposites was significantly improved by the addition of m CNTs‐CP hybrid nanopowders. Moreover, nanocomposites containing low concentration of m CNTs (0.1%) showed significantly stimulated biological responses including cell proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation in terms of gene and protein expressions. Based on this study, the addition of novel m CNT‐CP hybrid nanopowders to PLA biopolymer may be considered a new material choice for developing hard tissue implants. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011.