Graphene oxide (GO)
and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) are usually used
for improving the strength and bioactivity of polymer scaffolds. However,
due to the nano-aggregation effect, these applications often face
the problems of uneven dispersion and poor interface bonding. In this
work, their hybrids (GO@nHA) were constructed by combining chemical
modification and in situ growth methods, realizing the perfect combination
of nHA and GO. First, the functionalization of GO was realized through
oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine (DA), and the product was
denoted GO@DA. Furthermore, the in situ growth of nHA on GO@DA was
induced by hydrothermal reactions to prepare GO@nHA hybrids. Then,
the obtained hybrid was added to the polymer matrix, and a composite
scaffold was prepared through a selective laser sintering process.
The results demonstrated that with the addition of GO@DA and GO@nHA,
the ultimate strength was increased to 16.8 and 18.6 MPa, respectively,
which is 66 and 84% higher than the 10.1 MPa of the polylactic acid
(PLA) scaffold. In addition, composite scaffolds exhibited good biomineralization
ability in vitro and also promoted the adhesion and proliferation
of MG63 cells.