Biocompósito a partir de PLA, Biovidro e Nanotubos de Carbono por Impressão 3D visando Regeneração Óssea

Abstract

Bone involvement promoted by aging and accidents has aroused interest in biomaterials and technologies for bone regeneration purposes. Thus, 3D printing technology gained prominence in the production of scaffolds due to its versatility in the production of complex geometries with interconnected pores. In this work, scaffolds composed of poly (lactic acid) (PLA), bioglass (BV) and carbon nanotubes (NTC) were produced by 3D printing, using hexagonal geometry, similar to honeycomb, interleaved. Poly (lactic acid) is a biopolymer already used in biomaterials, while bioglass has proven to be an excellent strategy for use in bone regeneration due to its excellent properties of biocompatibility, bioactivity and osteointegration, however they have low mechanical resistance and carbon nanotubes have shown excellent mechanical reinforcement in composite biomaterials. Thus, the main objective of this study was to produce and characterize a biocomposite of PLA, bioglass and carbon nanotubes by 3D printing and to study its chemical structure, crystallineity and morphology, using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The thermal stability of the composite was evaluated by thermogravimetry, mechanical properties by compression tests and cell viability was determined by the Alamar Blue test. The bioglass was synthesized by sol-gel method presenting bioactive phases of silicate. The scaffolds were produced by 3D printing with hexagonal structures in honeycomb in PLA, PLA/BV and PLA/NTC that were impregnated with bioglass on its surface. The results of the scaffolds demonstratedinterconnected and well-defined pores, ranging from 130 μm to 800 μm. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the interaction of BV in the polymer matrix through new peaks in the spectrum between 1400 and 2600 cm-1 and the presence of the D, G and 2D bands of NTC. In the compression assay, PLA scaffolds with 2 mm diameter showed higher compression stress of 14.88 ± 2.35 MPa, while PLA/NTC higher modulus of apparent compression, 0.58 ± 0.36 GPa. In cell viability, statistical tests showed that there was no significant difference between scaffolds with 2 and 4 mm diameter. The results reveal promising results for the use of 3D printed composites in bone repair sponges. Thus, we suggest the composite of PLA/NTC of 4mm impregnated with BV on the surface as the best bone substitute, however, the application in implants remains limited in relation to osteogenic integration.