title: In vitro study of hydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone (HA/PCL) nanocomposite synthesized by an in situ sol-gel process.
abstract: Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the most substantial mineral constituent of a bone which has been extensively used in medicine as implantable materials, owing to its good biocompatibility, bioactivity high osteoconductive, and/or osteoinductive properties. Nevertheless, its mechanical property is not utmost appropriate for a bone substitution. Therefore, a composite consist of HA and a biodegradable polymer is usually prepared to generate an apt bone scaffold. In the present work polycaprolactone (PCL), a newly remarkable biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, was employed as a matrix and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were used as a reinforcement element of the composite. HA/PCL nanocomposites were synthesized by a new in situ sol-gel process using calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid precursors in the presence of Tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a solvent. Chemical and physical characteristics of the nanocomposite were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses. The results indicated that pure HA nanoparticles were well-incorporated and homogenously dispersed in the PCL matrix. It was found that the mechanical property of PCL was improved by addition of 20wt.% HA nanoparticles. Furthermore, the biological property of nanocomposites was investigated under in vitro condition. For this purpose, HA/PCL scaffolds were prepared through a salt leaching process and immersed in a saturated simulated body fluid (SBF) after 3 and 7days. It was found that a uniform layer of biomimetic HA could be deposited on the surface of HA/PCL scaffolds. Therefore, the prepared HA/PCL scaffolds showed good potential for bone tissue engineering and could be used for many clinical applications in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Street, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Street, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: mohammadi@sharif.edu.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
mesh_terms: D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry*; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D017886:Durapatite