Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London , Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE , UK.
J R Soc Interface. 2019 Mar 29;16(152):20180955. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0955.
We develop a simple, fast and economical surface treatment under ambient temperature to improve the hydrophilicity and osteoconductivity of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for bone implant applications. A major challenge in bone implants is the drastic difference in stiffness between traditional implant materials (such as titanium and stainless steel) and human bone. PEEK is biocompatible with an elastic modulus closely matching that of human bone, making it a highly attractive alternative. However, its bio-inert and poorly hydrophilic surface presents a serious challenge for osseointegration. Sulfonation can improve hydrophilicity and introduce bioactive sulfonate groups, but PEEK sulfonation has traditionally been applied for fuel cells, employing elevated temperatures and long reaction times to re-cast PEEK into sulfonated films. Little research has systematically studied PEEK surface modification by short reaction time (seconds) and ambient-temperature sulfonation for biomedical applications. Here, we investigate three ambient-temperature sulfonation treatments under varying reaction times (5-90 s) and evaluate the hydrophilicity and morphology of 15 modified PEEK surfaces. We establish an optimal treatment using 30 s HSO followed by 20 s rinsing, and then 20 s immersion in NaOH followed by 20 s rinsing. This 30 s ambient-temperature sulfonation is found to be more effective than conventional plasma treatments and reduced PEEK water contact angle from 78° to 37°.
我们开发了一种简单、快速且经济的室温表面处理方法，以提高用于骨植入物的聚醚醚酮（PEEK）的亲水性和骨诱导性。骨植入物的一个主要挑战是传统植入材料（如钛和不锈钢）与人体骨骼之间的刚度差异很大。PEEK 与人骨的弹性模量相匹配，具有生物相容性，因此是一种极具吸引力的替代品。然而，其生物惰性和较差的亲水性表面对骨整合提出了严峻的挑战。磺化可以提高亲水性并引入生物活性的磺酸盐基团，但 PEEK 的磺化传统上用于燃料电池，采用高温和长时间反应来将 PEEK 重铸成磺化膜。很少有研究系统地研究了通过短反应时间（秒）和室温磺化对生物医学应用的 PEEK 表面改性。在这里，我们研究了三种在不同反应时间（5-90 秒）下的室温磺化处理，并评估了 15 种改性 PEEK 表面的亲水性和形貌。我们采用 30 秒 HSO 处理，然后用 20 秒冲洗，再用 20 秒氢氧化钠浸泡，20 秒冲洗，建立了一种最佳处理方法。这种 30 秒的室温磺化处理比传统的等离子体处理更有效，将 PEEK 的水接触角从 78°降低到 37°。
