Abstract
Injectable bone grafts with strength exceeding that of trabecular bone could improve the clinical management of a number of orthopedic conditions. Ceramic/polymer composites have been investigated as weight-bearing bone grafts, but they are typically weaker than trabecular bone due to poor interfacial bonding. We hypothesized that entrapment of surface-initiated poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) chains on 45S5 bioactive glass (BG) particles within an in situ-formed polymer network would enhance the mechanical properties of reactive BG/polymer composites. When the surface-initiated PCL molecular weight exceeded the molecular weight between crosslinks of the network, the compressive strength of the composites increased 6- to 10-fold. The torsional strength of the composites exceeded that of human trabecular bone by a factor of two. When injected into femoral condyle defects in rats, the composites supported new bone formation at 8 weeks. The initial bone-like strength of BG/polymer composites and their ability to remodel in vivo highlight their potential for development as injectable grafts for repair of weight-bearing bone defects.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 2398-2407 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Research |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 28 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- composite
- polymer
- surface chemistry
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering