Fabrication of In Situ Grown Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles Modified Porous Polyetheretherketone Matrix Composites to Promote Osteointegration and Enhance Bone Repair

Abstract

The repairment of critical-sized bone defects is a serious problem that stimulates the development of new biomaterials. In this study, nanohydroxyapatite (nHA)-doped porous polyetheretherketone (pPEEK) were successfully fabricated by the thermally induced phase separation method and hydrothermal treatment. Structural analysis was performed by X-ray diffraction. The water contact angles and scanning electron microscopy were measured to assess physical properties of surfaces. The mechanical strength of the composites is also determined. Microcomputed tomography is used to characterize the nHA content of the composites. The in vitro bioactivity of the composites with or without nHA was investigated by using murine pre-osteoblasts MC3T3-E1, and the results of cytotoxicity and cell proliferation assays revealed that the cytocompatibility of all specimens was good. Adherence assays were employed to examine the adhesion and morphology of cells on different materials. However, nHA-doped composites induced cell attachment and cell spreading more significantly. Osteogenic differentiation was investigated using alkaline phosphatase activity and alizarin red staining, and these in vitro results demonstrated that composites containing nHA particles enhanced osteoblast differentiation. Its effectiveness for promoting osteogenesis was also confirmed in an in vivo animal experiment using a tibial defective rat model. After 8 weeks of implantation, compared to the pure PEEK and pPEEK without nHA groups, the nHA-pPEEK group showed better osteogenic activity. The results indicate that the nHA-pPEEK composites are possibly a well-designed bone substitute for critical-sized bone defects by promoting bone regeneration and osteointegration successfully.

Biomimetic, biodegradable and osteoinductive treated dentin matrix/α-calcium sulphate hemihydrate composite material for bone tissue engineering

“…The contact angle was used to detect the hydrophilicity of the samples. A hydrophilic material surface can effectively promote cell infiltration and adhesion [ 33 ]. The contact angles of each group of materials indicate that all samples present hydrophilic property, indicating that all samples perform hydrophilic properties ( Supplementary Fig.…”

Strategies to improve the performance of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) as orthopedic implants: from surface modification to addition of bioactive materials

“…70 In addition to the excellent mechanical properties, in vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that the composite is non-cytotoxic and has higher osteogenicity and cell adhesion than pure PEEK materials. 71 Sun et al 72 found that Ca 2+ released from HA could activate the adhesion proteins FAK upon entry into the cell by increasing the level of HA the intracellular Ca 2+ concentration was increased, thus promoting the expression of adhesion proteins/genes. For the fused filament fabrication (FFF) fabricated PEEK/HA scaffolds, HA particles are evenly distributed throughout the bulk and across the surface of the native 3D printed samples.…”

Bone Tissue Engineering and Nanotechnology: A Promising Combination for Bone Regeneration

“…NPs used in biomedical applications generally have an average size of between 10 and 100 nm [92]. They can be produced from different types of materials, such as ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers, metals, and organic materials [93,94], and they are generally combined with different matrices to develop nanocomposite scaffolds [95,96].…”