State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing System Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China.
Jihua Laboratory, Foshan, 528200, Guangdong, China.
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2021 Jun;118:104475. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104475. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) exhibits excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Three-dimensional (3D) printing of PEEK bone substitutes has been widely used in clinical application. However, the inertness of pure PEEK hinders its integration with the surrounding bone tissue. In this study, for the first time, PEEK/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite specimens were fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. PEEK/HA filaments with HA contents of 0-30 wt% were fabricated via mechanical mixing and extrusion. The HA distributions inside the composite matrix and the surface morphology characteristics of the PEEK/HA composites were examined. The effects of the printing path and HA content on the mechanics of the PEEK/HA composites were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the HA particles were uniformly distributed on the composite matrix. With an increase in the HA content, the modulus of the PEEK/HA composite increased, while the strength and failure strain concomitantly decreased. When the HA content increased to 30 wt%, the tensile modulus of the composite increased by 68.6% compared with that of pure PEEK printed along the horizontal 90° path, while the tensile strength decreased by 48.2% compared with that of pure PEEK printed along the vertical 90° path. The fracture elongation of the printed specimens with different HA contents decreased in the following order: horizontal 0° > horizontal 90° > vertical 90°. The best comprehensive mechanical properties were achieved for pure PEEK fabricated along the horizontal 0° path. The results indicate that FFF technology is applicable for additive manufacturing of PEEK/HA composites with controllable compositions. Printed PEEK/HA composites have potential for applications in the design and manufacturing of personalized bone substitutes.
聚醚醚酮（PEEK）具有优异的机械性能和生物相容性。三维（3D）打印的 PEEK 骨替代物已广泛应用于临床应用。然而，纯 PEEK 的惰性阻碍了其与周围骨组织的整合。在这项研究中，首次使用熔融沉积成型（FFF）技术制造了 PEEK/羟基磷灰石（HA）复合材料。通过机械混合和挤出制备了 HA 含量为 0-30wt%的 PEEK/HA 纤维。检查了复合基体内部的 HA 分布和 PEEK/HA 复合材料的表面形貌特征。系统研究了打印路径和 HA 含量对 PEEK/HA 复合材料力学性能的影响。结果表明，HA 颗粒均匀分布在复合基体上。随着 HA 含量的增加，PEEK/HA 复合材料的模量增加，而强度和失效应变则同时降低。当 HA 含量增加到 30wt%时，与沿水平 90°路径打印的纯 PEEK 相比，复合的拉伸模量增加了 68.6%，而与沿垂直 90°路径打印的纯 PEEK 相比，拉伸强度降低了 48.2%。具有不同 HA 含量的打印试样的断裂伸长率按以下顺序降低：水平 0°>水平 90°>垂直 90°。纯 PEEK 沿水平 0°路径制造时具有最佳的综合力学性能。结果表明，FFF 技术适用于具有可控成分的 PEEK/HA 复合材料的增材制造。打印的 PEEK/HA 复合材料在个性化骨替代物的设计和制造方面具有应用潜力。
