Processing and Characterization of PCL-HA Composites for Medical Application

Abstract

The focus of this research is fabricating a polymeric composite for biomedical applications, like bone plates, joint replacement, dental implant etc. and gaining a better understanding of its properties and behavior. Polymers are available in a wide variety of compositions, properties and different form that they can easily be fabricated into complex shapes and structures. But they have poor mechanical properties compared to bone. The biodegradability and the possibility to be mechanically strengthened makes polymers very promising as candidate material for bone replacement. The improvement of the mechanical properties of polymer can be achieved either by the modification of the structure of the polymer, or by strengthening of the polymer with fiber and/or filler. To achieve this objective, the fundamental properties of biomaterial, polycaprolactone (PCL) and their composite with hydroxyapatite are examined. PCL-HA composites are fabricated by using solvent technique. PCL-HA composite samples are prepared to examined their thermal (TGS and DSC), mechanical properties (density, tensile test, 3-point bend test and hardness), according to ASTM standard (D638-03 and D790-03), degradation behavior and viscoelasticity. The results show that adding HA particles o the PCL matrix improves the mechanical, thermal and degradation properties of composite structure. The young’s modulus of PCL-HA composites is similar to that of trabecular bone and, therefore, can be used for one replacement.