Tailoring mechanical properties and degradation rate of maxillofacial implant based on sago starch/polylactid acid blend

A polymeric bone implants have a distinctive advantage compared to metal implants due to their degradability in the local bone host. The usage of degradable implant prevents the need for an implant removal surgery especially if they fixated in challenging position such as maxillofacial area. Additionally, this fixation system has been widely applied in fixing maxillofacial fracture in child patients. An ideal degradable implant has a considerable mass degradation rate that proved structural integrity to the healing bone. At this moment, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) are the most common materials used as degradable implant. This composition of materials has a degradation rate of more than a year. A long degradation rate increases the long-term biohazard risk for the bone host. Therefore, a faster degradation rate with adequate strength of implant is the focal point of this research. This study tailored the tunable degradability of starch with strength properties of PLA. Blending system of starch and PLA has been reported widely, but none of them were aimed to be utilized as medical implant. Here, various concentrations of sago starch/PLA and Polyethylene glycol (PEG) were composed to meet the requirement of maxillofacial miniplate implant. The implant was realized using an injection molding process to have a six-hole-miniplate with 1.2 mm thick and 34 mm length. The specimens were physiochemically characterized through X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. It is found that the microstructure and chemical interactions of the starch/PLA/PEG polymers are correlated with the mechanical characteristics of the blends. Compared to a pure PLA miniplate, the sago starch/PLA/PEG blend shows a 60–80% lower tensile strength and stiffness. However, the flexural strength and elongation break are improved. A degradation study was conducted to observe the mass degradation rate of miniplate for 10 weeks duration. It is found that a maximum concentration of 20% sago starch and 10% of PEG in the PLA blending has promising properties as desired. The blends showed a 100–150% higher degradability rate compared to the pure PLA or a commercial miniplate. The numerical simulation was conducted and confirmed that the miniplate in the mandibular area were shown to be endurable with standard applied loading. The mechanical properties resulted from the experimental work was applied in the Finite Element Analysis to find that our miniplate were in acceptable level. Lastly, the in-vitro test showed that implants are safe to human cell with viability more than 80%. These findings shall support the use of this miniplate in rehabilitating mandibular fractures with faster degradation with acceptance level of mechanical characteristic specifically in case of 4–6 weeks bone union

Retracted: Calculation of the CNC EDM complexity process for biomedical implants

This article was withdrawn and retracted by the Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences and has been removed from AJOL at the request of the journal Editor in Chief and the organisers of the conference at which the articles were presented (www.iccmit.net). Please address any queries to [email protected]

PLA-Sago Starch Implants: The Optimization of Injection Molding Parameter and Plasticizer Material Compositions

Previous research extensively characterized PLA blends for various biomedical applications, especially in polymer-based biodegradable implant fixations, offering advantages over metallic counterparts. Nevertheless, achieving an optimal PLA mixture with both mechanical resistance and fast biodegradability remains a challenge. Currently, literature still lacks insights into the manufacturing parameter impact on sago starch/PLA in combination with PEG plasticizer. The objective of this study is to assess variations in injection molding temperatures and sago/PLA/PEG weight compositions to identify the optimal combination enhancing miniplate mechanical properties and biodegradation behavior. Mechanical tests reveal that incorporating PEG into pure PLA yields high mechanical performance, correlating linearly with increasing injection temperature. However, the interaction once the three materials are mixed decreases mechanical performance across tested temperatures. Higher biodegradation rates are observed with a larger weight composition of the hydrophilic behavior attributed to sago starch presence. The observed novelty in PLA mixed with 20% sago starch and 10% PEG at 170 °C indicates a better performance in elastic modulus and elongation at break also the degradation rate, emphasizing the role of injection temperature in molding miniplate implants. In conclusion, the interplay of injection molding parameters and material compositions is crucial for optimizing PLA-based miniplate implants, with potential contributions to tissue implants rather than bone implants due to their mechanical limitation

Optimizing PEEK implant surfaces for improved stability and biocompatibility through sandblasting and the platinum coating approach

Polyether–ether–ketone (PEEK) is a commonly employed biomaterial for spinal, cranial, and dental implant applications due to its mechanical properties, bio-stability, and radiolucency, especially when compared to metal alloys. However, its biologically inert behavior poses a substantial challenge in osseointegration between host bone and PEEK implants, resulting in implant loosening. Previous studies identified PEEK surface modification methods that prove beneficial in enhancing implant stability and supporting cell growth, but simultaneously, those modifications have the potential to promote bacterial attachment. In this study, sandblasting and sputter coating are performed to address the aforementioned issues as preclinical work. The aim is to investigate the effects of surface roughness through alumina sandblasting and a platinum (Pt) sputtered coating on the surface friction, cell viability, and bacterial adhesion rates of PEEK material. This study reveals that a higher average surface roughness of the PEEK sample (the highest was 1.2 μm obtained after sandblasting) increases the coefficient of friction, which was 0.25 compared to the untreated PEEK of 0.14, indicating better stability performance but also increased bacterial adhesion. A novelty of this study is that the method of Pt coating after alumina sandblasting is seen to significantly reduce the bacterial adhesion by 67% when compared to the sandblasted PEEK sample after 24 h immersion, implying better biocompatibility without changing the cell viability performance

Electrical and Mechanical Characterisation of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Based Composites for Tissue Engineering Applications

This paper presents the realization of conductive matrices for application to tissue engineering research. We used poly(L-lactide (PLLA)), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(lactide-coglycolide) (PLGA) as polymer matrix, because they are biocompatible and biodegradable. The conductive property was integrated to them by adding single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) into the polymer matrix. Several SWNTs concentrations were introduced aiming to understand how they influence and modulate mechanical properties, impedance features and electric percolation threshold of polymer matrix. It was observed that a concentration of 0.3% was able to transform insulating matrix into conductive one. Furthermore, a conductive model of the SWNT/polymer was developed by applying power law of percolation threshold