3D Printed Strontium and Zinc Doped Hydroxyapatite Loaded PEEK for Craniomaxillofacial Implants

Polymers

Daniel Crawford¹  Atefeh Golbang²  Eileen Harkin-Jones²  Faisal Manzoor²  Alistair McIlhagger²  Dorian Dixon³  Elena Mancuso³  Usaid Azhar⁴  Ioannis Manolakis⁴ 

[1] Axial 3D, Alexander House, 17a Ormeau Ave, Belfast BT2 8HD, UK;Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Ulster University, Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, UK;Nanotechnology and Integrated Bio-Engineering Centre (NIBEC), Ulster University, Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, UK;Precision Engineering, Materials & Manufacturing (PEM) Research Centre, Institute of Technology Sligo, Ash Lane, F91 YW50 Sligo, Ireland;

关键词: 3D printing;    fused deposition modelling;    PEEK;    bioactive composites;    doped hydroxyapatite;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym14071376

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In this study, Strontium (Sr) and Zinc (Zn) doped-HA nanoparticles were synthesized and incorporated into polyetheretherketone (PEEK) up to 30 wt.% and processed by a novel approach i.e., fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing for the production of patient specific cranial implants with improved bioactivity and the required mechanical performance. Filaments were produced via extrusion and subsequently 3D-printed using FDM. To further improve the bioactivity of the 3D-printed parts, the samples were dip-coated in polyethylene glycol-DOPA (PEG-DOPA) solution. The printing quality was influenced by filler loading, but was not significantly influenced by the nature of doped-HA. Hence, the printing conditions were optimized for each sample. Micro-CT and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed a uniform distribution of bioceramic particles in PEEK. Although agglomeration of particles increased with increase in filler loadings. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) showed that the melting point and crystallinity of PEEK increased with an increase in doped-HA loading from 343 °C to 355 °C and 27.7% to 34.6%, respectively. Apatite formation was confirmed on the 3D-printed samples after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7, 14 and 28 days via SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The tensile strength and impact strength decreased from 75 MPa to 51 MPa and 14 kJ/m² to 4 kJ/m², respectively, while Young’s modulus increased with increasing doped-HA content from 2.8 GPa to 4.2 GPa. However, the tensile strengths of composites remained in the range of human cortical bone i.e., ≥50 MPa. In addition, there was a slight increase in mechanical strength after 28 days immersion which was attributed to apatite formation. Water contact angle showed that the hydrophilicity of the samples improved after coating the 3D-printed samples with PEG-DOPA. Hence, based on the results, the 3D-printed PEEK nanocomposites with 20 wt.% doped-HA is selected as the best candidate for the 3D-printing of craniomaxillofacial implants.

【 授权许可】

Unknown