title: Processing and bioactivity of 45S5 Bioglass(®)-graphene nanoplatelets composites.
abstract: Well dispersed 45S5 Bioglass(®) (BG)-graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) composites were prepared after optimising the processing conditions. Fully dense BG nanocomposites with GNP loading of 1, 3 and 5 vol% were consolidated using Spark plasma sintering (SPS). SPS avoided any structural damage of GNP as confirmed using Raman spectroscopy. GNP increased the viscosity of BG-GNP composites resulting in an increase in the sintering temperature by ~50 °C compared to pure BG. Electrical conductivity of BG-GNP composites increased with increasing concentration of GNP. The highest conductivity of 13 S/m was observed for BG-GNP (5 vol%) composite which is ~9 orders of magnitude higher compared to pure BG. For both BG and BG-GNP composites, in vitro bioactivity testing was done using simulated body fluid for 1 and 3 days. XRD confirmed the formation of hydroxyapatite for BG and BG-GNP composites with cauliflower structures forming on top of the nano-composites surface. GNP increased the electrical conductivity of BG-GNP composites without affecting the bioactivity thus opening the possibility to fabricate bioactive and electrically conductive scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.
authors: School of Engineering and Material Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.
authors: Harshit
authors: H
authors: Porwal
authors: Salvatore
authors: S
authors: Grasso
authors: Luis
authors: L
authors: Cordero-Arias
authors: Chunchun
authors: C
authors: Li
authors: Aldo R
authors: AR
authors: Boccaccini
authors: Mike J
authors: MJ
authors: Reece
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; C425330:bioactive glass 45S5; D006108:Graphite