Graphene Oxides/Carbon Nanotubes–Hydroxyapatite Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications

摘要

Hydroxyapatite (HAP), the main mineral component of bone and tooth enamel, has become an important biomaterial inorthopedic and dental applications. However, its low fracture toughness, poor tensile strength and wear resistance make itnot suitable to be used in bone tissue engineering applications, the improvement of mechanical properties of HAP usingdifferent additives being still a great challenge. Nowadays, the most used additives for reinforcement are graphene oxide(GO) and single- or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The present study reports their successful incorporationof MWCNTs and GO (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt%) into the HAP matrix. The prepared HAP-based nanocomposites (NCs) werecharacterized by X-ray diffraction, laser diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, thermal analysis andRaman spectroscopy. Moreover, the UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to investigate the desorption properties of obtained NCsby using ibuprofen, one of the most common prescribed analgesic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It was found thatCNTs addition does not have a major influence on desorption efficiency, while the addition of GO evidenced an increase indesorption efficiency over time for all the studied NCs.