Taymour Noha, Fahmy Amal E, Gepreel Mohamed Abdel Hady, Kandil Sherif, El-Fattah Ahmed Abd
Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Dental Materials, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Azarita, Alexandria 21526, Egypt.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Apr 18;14(8):1632. doi: 10.3390/polym14081632.
Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) biomaterial has been increasingly employed for orthopedic, trauma, spinal, and dental implants due to its biocompatibility and in vivo stability. However, a lack of bioactivity and binding ability to natural bone tissue has significantly limited PEEK for many challenging dental implant applications. In this work, nanocomposites based on PEEK reinforced with bioactive silicate-based bioceramics (forsterite or bioglass) as nanofillers were prepared using high energy ball milling followed by melt blending and compression molding. The influence of nanofillers type and content (10, 20 and 30 wt.%) on the crystalline structure, morphology, surface roughness, hydrophilicity, microhardness, elastic compression modulus, and flexural strength of the nanocomposites was investigated. The scanning electron microscopy images of the nanocomposites with low nanofillers content showed a homogenous surface with uniform dispersion within the PEEK matrix with no agglomerates. All nanocomposites showed an increased surface roughness compared to pristine PEEK. It was found that the incorporation of 20 wt.% forsterite was the most effective in the nanocomposite formulation compared with bioglass-based nanocomposites; it has significantly improved the elastic modulus, flexural strength, and microhardness. In vitro bioactivity evaluation, which used biomimetic simulated body fluid indicated the ability of PEEK nanocomposites loaded with forsterite or bioglass nanofillers to precipitate calcium and phosphate bone minerals on its surface. These nanocomposites are expected to be used in long-term load-bearing implant applications and could be recommended as a promising alternative to titanium and zirconia when used as a dental implant material.
聚醚醚酮（PEEK）生物材料因其生物相容性和体内稳定性，已越来越多地应用于骨科、创伤、脊柱和牙科植入物。然而，缺乏生物活性以及与天然骨组织的结合能力，在许多具有挑战性的牙科植入应用中显著限制了PEEK的使用。在这项工作中，通过高能球磨，然后进行熔融共混和压缩成型，制备了以生物活性硅酸盐基生物陶瓷（镁橄榄石或生物玻璃）作为纳米填料增强的PEEK基纳米复合材料。研究了纳米填料类型和含量（10%、20%和30%重量）对纳米复合材料的晶体结构、形态、表面粗糙度、亲水性、显微硬度、弹性压缩模量和弯曲强度的影响。低纳米填料含量的纳米复合材料的扫描电子显微镜图像显示，其表面均匀，在PEEK基体中分散均匀，无团聚物。与原始PEEK相比，所有纳米复合材料的表面粗糙度均有所增加。结果发现，与生物玻璃基纳米复合材料相比，在纳米复合材料配方中加入20%重量的镁橄榄石最为有效；它显著提高了弹性模量、弯曲强度和显微硬度。使用仿生模拟体液的体外生物活性评估表明，负载镁橄榄石或生物玻璃纳米填料的PEEK纳米复合材料能够在其表面沉淀钙和磷酸盐骨矿物质。这些纳米复合材料有望用于长期承重植入应用，并且在用作牙科植入材料时，可被推荐为钛和氧化锆的有前途的替代品。
