Authors: C Y Zhang H Lu Z Zhuang X P Wang Q F Fang
Publish Date: 2010/10/02
Volume: 21, Issue: 12, Pages: 3077-3083
Abstract
Nanohydroxyapatite/polyllactic acid nanoHA/PLLA composites with uniform HA distribution and good mechanical performance were fabricated by a modified in situ precipitation method using CaOH2 and H3PO4 as precursors for the synthesis of HA phase This method has solved the aggregation problem of the nanosized particles in the polymer matrix The Xray diffraction Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the phase composition chemical interactions and morphology of the composites while the mechanical properties were determined by compressive measurements The results show that the rodlike nanoHA particles synthesized by this method were uniformly distributed in the PLLA matrix The compressive strength and Young’s modulus of the composites were greatly enhanced and reached the values of 155 MPa and 36 GPa at 20 wt HA content respectively which are much higher than those of the reference samples fabricated by direct mixing of PLLA with nanoHA particles This supports the potential of these composites for applications in bone tissue engineering and load bearing bone defects repair
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