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Novel PEEK/nHA composites fabricated by hot-pressing of 3D braided PEEK matrix

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Abstract

Integration of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) into polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has been recognized as an effective approach to improve osseointegration of PEEK-based devices. In this work, we report a novel method based on 3D braiding-self retention-hot pressing to yield a bioactive PEEK/nHA composite with superior mechanical properties. The better apatite formation ability and higher MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion and proliferation for the braided PEEK composite reinforced with 6.5 wt% and 14.5 wt% nHA displayed than the unfilled PEEK matrix, mainly ascribed to the incorporation of nHA. Meanwhile, the elastic modulus, hardness, and bending strength of binary composites increased from 4.3 to 8.3 GPa, 0.23 to 0.34 GPa, and 138.86 to 155.32 MPa correspondingly. Compared with the fracture toughness of pure PEEK matrix, that of 6.5 wt% nHA/PEEK composites had a 54.9% increase, whereas that of 14.5 wt% nHA/PEEK composites showed a 23.6% decrease, which was mainly attributed to the interfacial properties between HA and PEEK as well as braid structure of PEEK filaments. These findings exhibited both good mechanical properties and bioactivity of the braided PEEK/nHA composites. Therefore, it is proposed that the 3D braiding-self retention-hot pressing technique is a promising approach for customized PEEK-based implants.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. J Ma would like to thank Dr. JB Zhang for his guidance and assistance in operating the SANS Material Testing Machine.

Funding

This study is financially supported by the National Foundation of Science of China (Project No. 11872200), Guangdong Foundation of Science and Technology (Project No. 2017B030301018), and Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (Project No. JCYJ20170817111312887, KQJSCX20180319114439683, and ZDSYS20140509142721429). This work was also supported by the Pico Center at SUSTech that receives support from Presidential fund and Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality.

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  1. J. Ma and Z.J. Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    J. Ma, Z.J. Li, Y.Z.B. Xue, X.Y. Liang & B. Tang

  2. Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    J. Ma & Z.J. Tan

  3. State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China

    Y.Z.B. Xue

  4. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell Microenvironment and Disease Research, Shenzhen, China

    B. Tang

  5. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Cell Microenvironment, Shenzhen, China

    B. Tang

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Ma, J., Li, Z., Xue, Y. et al. Novel PEEK/nHA composites fabricated by hot-pressing of 3D braided PEEK matrix. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 3, 156–166 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-020-00147-3

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