Development of PLA-PCL Based Bio-Nanocomposite Implant Material Enhanced with Hydroxyapatite

Polylactic acid (PLA)offers a promising alternative to conventional plastics, offering biodegradability, renewability, and versatility. Indeed, blending PLA with other polymers and reinforcing it with nanofillers are common strategies employed by researchers to enhance its biomechanical properties. Polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polymer, is compatible with PLA, making it an ideal candidate for blending. This compatibility enables the enhancement of PLA’s properties through blending. Both PLA and PCL are regarded as biomedical materials by Food and Drug Administration, USA due to their biocompatibility. Both inorganic and organic nanofillers were incorporated in the polymer nano-composite preparation. The inorganic filler such as Montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) was integrated into the polymer nano-composite at concentrations varying from 1 to 4 wt%, while Graphene Oxide (GO) and reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) were utilized as organic nanofillers within the composite, ranging from 0.02 to 0.1 wt%. To create superior materials, blends of PLA and PCL reinforced by HA with varying weight percentages of 10 to 45 wt% are also taken into consideration. The biological properties such as biodegradation, porosity and swelling of polymeric bio-nano composites were then investigated. Here, in the present work it is attempted to synthesize polymer bio-nano composites suitable for biomedical implants based on PLA/PCL blend reinforced with HA and GO.