title: Improved mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite whisker-reinforced poly(L-lactic acid) scaffold by surface modification of hydroxyapatite.
abstract: To improve the mechanical properties of porous hydroxyapatite/poly(L-lactic acid) (HA/PLLA) composites, HA whiskers with high crystallinity and high aspect ratio were synthesized. HA whiskers were modified with γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to improve the interface between HA whiskers and PLLA. The composite scaffold consists of a porous PLLA matrix with HA whiskers distributed homogeneously. The morphology and the distributions of pore sizes of PLLA scaffold was not influenced by introducing HA whiskers, while the mechanical properties were improved. Both the compressive strength and compressive modulus were increased with the weight ratio of APTES-modified HA whiskers up to 30 wt.%, but only up to 15 wt.% for non-modified HA whiskers. With more than 15 wt.% HA whiskers, the mechanical properties of HA/PLLA scaffold were better improved with APTES-modified HA whiskers than non-modified. The HA whisker/PLLA scaffold with high porosity and improved mechanical properties is attractive in the application of tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Zhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials (MOE), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: biomater@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006244:Hardness; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide); D017886:Durapatite
keywords: Hydroxyapatite whisker; Mechanical property; Poly(l-lactide) (PLLA); Scaffold; Surface modification