Govinda Kapusetti

Bone cement/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites as potential biomaterials for joint implant†

Poly(methyl methacrylate)-based bone cement and layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites have been used as a grouting material for total joint arthroplasty. Few weight percentage of nanoLDH was uniformly dispersed in the bone cement matrix to have adequate interaction with matrix polymer. Mechanical strength, stiffness, toughness, and fatigue resistance of the nanocomposites are found to be higher than that of pure bone cement. Nanocomposites are thermally stable as compared to pristine bone cement. Direct mixing of the nanoLDH without any organic solvent makes these nanocomposites biocompatible. Biocompatibility was evaluated and compared with that of commercial bone cement by measuring hydrophilic nature, hemolysis assay, thrombosis assay, and deposition of apatite in simulated body fluid immersion. Finally, the viability of human osteoblast cells on the above developed nanocomposites was testified for actual biocompatibility. The experiment showed better cell growth in nanocomposites as compared to pure bone cement. Thus, these nanocomposites are found to be better grouting material than bone cement.

Bone cement based nanohybrid as a super biomaterial for bone healing

A novel nanohybrid based on bone cement has been developed which is capable of healing fractured bone in 30 days, one-third of the time required for the natural healing process. Nanohybrids of bone cement based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), currently used as a grouting material in joint replacement surgery, were prepared by simple mixing with organically modified layered silicates of varying chemical compositions. The temperature arising from exothermic polymerization in one of the nanohybrids is 12 °C lower than that in pure bone cement, thus circumventing the reported cell necrosis that occurs during implantation with pure bone cement. The thermal stability and mechanical superiority of this nanohybrid were verified in terms of its higher degradation temperature, better stiffness, superior toughness, and significantly higher fatigue resistance compared with pure bone cement; these properties make it appropriate for use as an implant material. The biocompatibility and bioactivity of the nanohybrid were confirmed using cell adhesion, cell viability, and fluorescence imaging studies. Osteoconductivity and bone bonding properties were monitored in vivo in rabbits through radiographic imaging and histopathological studies of growing bone and muscle near the surgery site. The observed dissimilarity of the properties of two different nanoclays used as fillers were visualized through interactions measured using spectroscopic techniques. Studies of the influence of different elements on bioactivity showed a higher efficiency for the nanoclay containing greater amounts of iron.

Layered double hydroxide induced advancement in joint prosthesis using bone cement: the effect of metal substitution

Poly(methyl methacrylate) based bone cement and its nanocomposites with layered double hydroxide (LDH) have been developed with greater mechanical strength and biocompatibility as a grouting material for total joint arthroplasty. Bivalent magnesium has been replaced with trivalent aluminium with various mole ratios, keeping the layered pattern of the LDH intact, to cater for the effect of varying substitution on the property enhancement of the nanocomposites. The intercalation of polymer inside the LDH layers makes them disordered and mechanically stiffer and tougher by more than 100%. The thermal stability of bone cement has increased by more than 30 °C in the presence of 1 wt% of nanoLDH, homogenously distributed in the bone cement matrix by creating an inorganic thermal barrier out of the LDH dispersion. The improvement in the properties of the nanocomposites has been explained in terms of the strong interaction between nanoLDH and polymer. The superior bioactivity and biocompatibility of the nanocomposites, as compared to pure bone cement, has been established through hemolysis assay, cell adhesion, MTT assay and cell proliferation using fluorescence imaging. The developed nanocomposites have been used as a grouting material and significant improvements have been achieved in fatigue behaviour with gradual increment of Al substitution in the Mg : Al mole ratio in nanoLDH, demonstrating the real use of the material in the biomedical area. In vivo experiments on rabbits clearly revealed the superior efficacy of bone cement nanocomposites, over pure bone cement and a blank.

Piezoelectric material – A promising approach for bone and cartilage regeneration

Bone and cartilage are major weight-bearing connective tissues in human and possesses utmost vulnerability for degeneration. The potential causes are mechanical trauma, cancer and disease condition like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, etc. The regeneration/repair is a challenging, since their complex structures and activities. Current treatment options comprise of auto graft, allograft, artificial bone substituent, autologous chondrocyte implantation, mosaicplasty, marrow stimulation and tissue engineering. Were incompetent to overcome the problem like abandoned growth factor degradation, indistinct growth factor dose and lack of integrity and mechanical properties in regenerated tissues. Present, paper focuses on the novel hypothesis for regeneration of bone and cartilage by using piezoelectric smart property of scaffold material.

Osteoconductive Amine-Functionalized Graphene–Poly(methyl methacrylate) Bone Cement Composite with Controlled Exothermic Polymerization

Bone cement has found extensive usage in joint arthroplasty over the last 50 years; still, the development of bone cement with essential properties such as high fatigue resistance, lower exothermic temperature, and bioactivity has been an unsolved problem. In our present work, we have addressed all of the mentioned shortcomings of bone cement by reinforcing it with graphene (GR), graphene oxide (GO), and surface-modified amino graphene (AG) fillers. These nanocomposites have shown hypsochromic shifts, suggesting strong interactions between the filler material and the polymer matrix. AG-based nanohybrids have shown greater osteointegration and lower cytotoxicity compared to other nanohybrids as well as pristine bone cement. They have also reduced oxidative stress on cells, resulting in calcification within 20 days of the implantation of nanohybrids into the rabbits. They have significantly reduced the exothermic curing temperature to body temperature and increased the setting time to facilitate practitioners, suggesting that reaction temperature and settling time can be dynamically controlled by varying the concentration of the filler. Thermal stability and enhanced mechanical properties have been achieved in nanohybrids vis-à-vis pure bone cement. Thus, this newly developed nanocomposite can create natural bonding with bone tissues for improved bioactivity, longer sustainability, and better strength in the prosthesis.

Thromboresistance of functionalized poly(methylmethacrylate): the effect of surface polarity

An implant material when comes in contact with blood fluids (e.g., blood and lymph), adsorb proteins spontaneously on its surface. Notably, blood coagulation is influenced by many factors, including mainly chemical structure and polarity (charge) of the material. The present study describes the methodology to improve the blood compatibility of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) by incorporating ionic groups with varying polarities. PMMA has been functionalized with different groups containing positive, negative and neutral polarity by the free radical polymerization technique and such modification were further confirmed through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The level of thrombogenicity was found three times lower with negatively charged PMMA in comparison to those of positively charged and neutral PMMA. Platelet adhesion was noted almost negligible in all samples after 10 s of blood exposure. High adsorption of fibrinogen from the blood was noticed in the test sample containing a group with positive polarity (thiouronium chloride) while there was no platelet adhesion observed even after 120 s of blood exposure in the test samples containing negatively charged (sulphate) and neutral (hydroxyl group) functional groups.

Piezoelectric smart biomaterials for bone and cartilage tissue engineering

Tissues like bone and cartilage are remodeled dynamically for their functional requirements by signaling pathways. The signals are controlled by the cells and extracellular matrix and transmitted through an electrical and chemical synapse. Scaffold-based tissue engineering therapies largely disturb the natural signaling pathways, due to their rigidity towards signal conduction, despite their therapeutic advantages. Thus, there is a high need of smart biomaterials, which can conveniently generate and transfer the bioelectric signals analogous to native tissues for appropriate physiological functions. Piezoelectric materials can generate electrical signals in response to the applied stress. Furthermore, they can stimulate the signaling pathways and thereby enhance the tissue regeneration at the impaired site. The piezoelectric scaffolds can act as sensitive mechanoelectrical transduction systems. Hence, it is applicable to the regions, where mechanical loads are predominant. The present review is mainly concentrated on the mechanism related to the electrical stimulation in a biological system and the different piezoelectric materials suitable for bone and cartilage tissue engineering.

Chemical modification of poly (vinyl chloride) sheet with thiourea for cell study

Plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) has been used as biomaterial to make medical equipment. An appropriate reaction situation by temperature at 60-85°C for the surface modification of PVC sheet with sodium thiourea has been investigated. Although, the use of a phase-transfer catalyst (Tetra butyl ammonium hydrogen sulphate-TBHAS) makes it feasible for the nucleophilic substitution reaction to take place, the morphology of the film is changed by the reaction, leading to a loss in both surface smoothness and transparency of the film. According to this study, the reaction with sodium thiourea occurs consistently through the sheets, and modified surface have antibacterial capacity.