1 research outputs found
Anisotropic Growth of Hydroxyapatite in Stretched Double Network Hydrogel
Bone
tissues possess excellent mechanical properties such as compatibility
between strength and flexibility and load bearing owing to the hybridization
of organic/inorganic matters with anisotropic structure. To synthetically
mimic such an anisotropic structure of natural organic/inorganic hybrid
materials, we carried out hydroxyapatite (HAp) mineralization in stretched
tough double network (DN) hydrogels. Anisotropic mineralization of
HAp took place in stretched hydrogels, as revealed by high brightness
synchrotron X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopic
observation. The <i>c</i>-axis of mineralized HAp aligned
along the stretching direction, and the orientation degree <i>S</i> calculated from scattering profiles increased with increasing
in the elongation ratio λ of the DN gel, and <i>S</i> at λ = 4 became comparable to that of rabbit tibial bones.
The morphology of HAp polycrystal gradually changed from spherical
to unidirectional rod-like shape with increased elongation ratio.
A possible mechanism for the anisotropic mineralization is proposed,
which would be one of the keys to develop mechanically anisotropic
organic/inorganic hybrid materials