Volume 22, Issue 12 2200321
Research Article

Calcium Silicate Whiskers-Enforced Poly(Ether-Ether-Ketone) Composites with Improved Mechanical Properties and Biological Activities for Bearing Bone Reconstruction

Jin Wang

Jin Wang

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Jie Lei

Jie Lei

Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Yanru Hu

Yanru Hu

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Lihui Meng

Lihui Meng

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Wenchao Li

Wenchao Li

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Fang Zhu

Fang Zhu

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Bing Xie

Bing Xie

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Youfa Wang

Corresponding Author

Youfa Wang

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Cao Yang

Corresponding Author

Cao Yang

Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Qingzhi Wu

Corresponding Author

Qingzhi Wu

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Biomedical Material and Engineering Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 04 September 2022

Abstract

Poly (ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) displays promising potential application in bone tissue repair and orthopedic surgery due to its good biocompatibility and chemical stability. However, the bio-inertness and poor mechanical strength of PEEK greatly limit its application in load-bearing bones. In this study, calcium silicate whiskers (CSws) are synthesized and then compounded with PEEK to fabricate the PEEK/CSw composites with excellent mechanical properties, biological activity. Compared with PEEK, the PEEK/CSw composites exhibited higher hydrophilicity and ability to deposit hydroxyapatite on the surface. CSws are evenly dispersed in the PEEK matrix at 10 wt% content and the mechanical strength of the PEEK/CSw composite is ≈96.9 ± 2.4 MPa, 136.3 ± 2.4 MPa, and 266.0 ± 3.2 MPa, corresponding to tensile strength, compressive strength, and bending strength, respectively, which is 20%, 18%, and 52% higher than that of pure PEEK. The composites improve the adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Furthermore, PEEK/CSw composite remarkably improves bone formation and osteointegration, which has higher bone repair capacity than PEEK. These results demonstrate that the PEEK/CSw scaffolds display superior abilities to integrate with the host bone and promising potential in the field of load bearing bone repair.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.