Designing of porous PMMA/diopside bone cement for non-load bearing applications

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to design a bioactive and mechanically stable ceramic/polymer cement for repairing bone defects. Solvent casting method was utilized to prepare porous diopside/PMMA scaffolds. The characteristic functional groups associated with diopside and PMMA in the composites were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the surface of composites covered by small non-uniform pores having dimensions below 4 μm. It was found that the porosity of the composites can be altered by varying the content of filler (diopside) in the composites. The biomineralization ability and mechanical strength of PMMA were enhanced by fabricating it as a composite with diopside. The presence of apatite peaks on the surface of diopside/PMMA composites was observed after 4 weeks of immersion in SBF solution. The mechanical strength of diopside/PMMA composites was found to match with cancellous bone. Hence, the compositional ratio and constituents played a key role in determining the activity of the composites. Bioactive silicates can be used as a filler in biomedical polymers for imparting ductility to ceramics for achieving advanced functionalities.