By mimicking the microstructure of human cortical bone, a variety of bioactive particle
reinforced polymer composites have been developed for hard tissue repair. Apart from biological
assessments, these composites must be fully evaluated in terms of their mechanical performance
before they can be used in patients. The bioactive particles in these composites are normally hard
(relative to matrix materials) and brittle bioceramics such as hydroxyapatite (HA), tricalcium
phosphate (TCP), Bioglass, etc. The matrices can be either “biostable” polymers such as high
density polyethylene (HDPE) and polysulfone (PSU) or biodegradable polymers such as
polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and poly(L-lactide) (PLLA). These polymers on their own possess
different mechanical properties and display different deformation behaviours. With the incorporation
of various amounts of particulate HA, TCP or Bioglass, the bone analogue polymeric composites
exhibit a spectrum of deformation and fracture characteristics. In our systematic studies of HA/HDPE,
Bioglass/HDPE, HA/PSU, HA/PHB, TCP/PHB and a few other bone analogues biomaterials over
the past fifteen years, mechanical tests were conducted under a variety of loading conditions (tension,
compression, bending, torsion, etc.). Comparisons of deformation and fracture behaviours of these
composites were made and presented. The insights that have been gained are important for developing
other bioactive ceramic-polymer composites.
A review of protein adsorption on bioceramics
