School of Civil Engineering, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan, 250357, China.
National United Engineering Laboratory for Biomedical Material Modification, Dezhou, 251100, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 19;14(1):28585. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80103-z.
Bone defects pose a significant risk to human health. Medical polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is an excellent implant material for bone defect repair, but it faces the challenge of bone osteoconduction and osseointegration. Osteoconduction describes the process by which bone grows on the surface of the implant, while osseointegration is the stable anchoring of the implant achieved by direct contact between the bone and the implant. Bone defects repair depends on the implant's three-dimensional spatial structure, including pore size, porosity, and interconnections to a great extent. However, it is challenging to fabricate the porous structures to meet specific requirements and to characterize them without causing damage. In this study, we designed and fabricated sandwich-like PEEK implants mimicking the three-layer structures of the skull, whose defects imposes a significant burden on young adulthood and paediatric populations, and performed in-line phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography to non-destructively investigate the internal porous microstructures. The sandwich-like three-layer microstructure, comprising a dense layer, a loose layer and a dense layer in succession, exhibits structural similarity to that in a natural skull. This work demonstrated the fabrication of the sandwich-like PEEK implant that could potentially enhance osteoconduction and osseointegration. Furthermore, the interior structures and residual porogen sodium chloride particles were observed within the PEEK implant, which cannot be realized by other microscopic methods without destroying the sample. It highlights the advantages and potential of using synchrotron X-ray microtomography to analyze the structure of biomedical materials. This study provides theoretical guidance for the further design and fabrication of PEEK bone repair materials and will advance the clinical application of innovative bioactive bone repair materials.
骨缺损对人类健康构成重大威胁。医用聚醚醚酮（PEEK）是一种优秀的骨缺损修复植入材料，但它面临着骨传导和骨整合的挑战。骨传导描述了骨在植入物表面生长的过程，而骨整合是通过骨与植入物的直接接触实现的植入物的稳定锚固。骨缺损修复在很大程度上取决于植入物的三维空间结构，包括孔径、孔隙率和连通性。然而，制造满足特定要求的多孔结构并在不造成损坏的情况下对其进行表征具有挑战性。在这项研究中，我们设计并制造了模仿颅骨三层结构的三明治状 PEEK 植入物，其缺陷对成年和儿童人群造成了重大负担，并进行了在线相衬同步加速器 X 射线微断层扫描，以非破坏性地研究内部多孔微观结构。三明治状三层微观结构，包括依次排列的致密层、疏松层和致密层，其结构与天然颅骨相似。这项工作展示了三明治状 PEEK 植入物的制造，有望增强骨传导和骨整合。此外，还观察到 PEEK 植入物内的内部结构和残留的致孔剂氯化钠颗粒，这是其他微观方法在不破坏样品的情况下无法实现的。它突出了使用同步加速器 X 射线微断层扫描分析生物医学材料结构的优势和潜力。本研究为进一步设计和制造 PEEK 骨修复材料提供了理论指导，并将推进创新生物活性骨修复材料的临床应用。
