The mechanical property, degradation and cytocompatibility analysis of novel phosphate glass fiber textiles

Abstract

Phosphate glass fibers have been widely considered as potential biomedical materials for orthopedical application due to their full degradability and excellent cytocompatibility. In this study, phosphate-based glass fibers were drawn from the glass system 48P2O5-12B2O3-14CaO-20MgO-1Na2O-5Fe2O3, via a melt-drawn spinning process and then woven into textile fabric using a small lab-scale inkle-loom. The annealing treatment was applied to both fibers and textiles with 1-hour heat treatment at 540℃, which was 10℃ above the glass transition temperature. An increase in Young's modulus was observed for the single filament fibers and a decrease in tensile strength with annealing treatment. During the degradation period, the tensile strength of non-annealed fibers presented a decrease by day 28, whilst annealed fibers had increased by day 7, then decreased by day 28, which was suggested to be due to the peeling effect observed on the surface of the fibers. The cytocompatibility of the textile fabric with annealing treatment (A-textile) and the non-annealed fabric (N-textile) was characterized via seeding of MG63 cells. Higher metabolic activity and DNA concentration were obtained for the A-textile samples when compared to the N-textile, which was suggested to be due to the lower dissolution rate of the A-textile resulting in fewer ions leaching into the solution. The phosphate glass fiber textiles investigated in this study have shown potential application as bioresorbable composites reinforcement for orthopedic treatment.

Improved phosphate‐based glass fiber performance achieved through acid etch/polydopamine treatment

“…As can be seen in the SEM (Figure ), there is significant breakdown of the fibers and loss of material with some very small diameter fibers observed. This is in keeping with previous results observed for this fiber type and in composites produced using this fiber type …”

“…Annealing causes a significant drop in strength (Weibull 1135 ‐> 509 MPa), which is as expected both from burn off of the protective epoxy coating and exacerbation of surface flaws. The drop in strength and increase in modulus has been observed previously in both this and other formulations of PGF …”

“…However, there does not appear to be a significant visual change in the DP coating at 7 and 14 days. The annealed fibers also do not display a noticeable visual change over the 14 day study, but the as received fibers experience severe degradation, with significant surface peeling and loss of diameter as expected …”

“…Although the absolute values of strength differ, a similar trend in the result was observed over the first two weeks, with an initial recovery in strength followed by the beginning of a longer term drop off. There was also little evidence of surface damage after 14 days …”

“…The annealed fibers also do not display a noticeable visual change over the 14 day study, but the as received fibers experience severe degradation, with significant surface peeling and loss of diameter as expected. 19 The fiber testing data are provided in Table 1. Values of Modulus and Weibull strength are also plotted in Figure 5, showing the variation between fiber treatments.…”