3D Printed Strontium and Zinc Doped Hydroxyapatite Loaded PEEK for Craniomaxillofacial Implants

Faisal Manzoor, Atefeh Golbang, Dorian Dixon, Elena Mancuso, Usaid Azhar, Ioannis Manolakis, Daniel Crawford, Alistair Mcilhagger, Eileen Harkin-jones

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)
40 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this study, Strontium (Sr) and Zinc (Zn) doped-HA nanoparticles were synthesized and incorporated into polyetheretherketone (PEEK) up to 30 wt.% and processed by a novel approach i.e., fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing for the production of patient specific cranial implants with improved bioactivity and the required mechanical performance. Filaments were produced via extrusion and subsequently 3D-printed using FDM. To further improve the bioactivity of the 3D-printed parts, the samples were dip-coated in polyethylene glycol-DOPA (PEG-DOPA) solution. The printing quality was influenced by filler loading, but was not significantly influenced by the nature of doped-HA. Hence, the printing conditions were optimized for each sample. Micro-CT and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed a uniform distribution of bioceramic particles in PEEK. Although agglomeration of particles increased with increase in filler loadings. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) showed that the melting point and crystallinity of PEEK increased with an increase in doped-HA loading from 343 °C to 355 °C and 27.7% to 34.6%, respectively. Apatite formation was confirmed on the 3D-printed samples after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7, 14 and 28 days via SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The tensile strength and impact strength decreased from 75 MPa to 51 MPa and 14 kJ/m 2 to 4 kJ/m 2, respectively, while Young's modulus increased with increasing doped-HA content from 2.8 GPa to 4.2 GPa. However, the tensile strengths of composites remained in the range of human cortical bone i.e., ≥50 MPa. In addition, there was a slight increase in mechanical strength after 28 days immersion which was attributed to apatite formation. Water contact angle showed that the hydrophilicity of the samples improved after coating the 3D-printed samples with PEG-DOPA. Hence, based on the results, the 3D-printed PEEK nanocomposites with 20 wt.% doped-HA is selected as the best candidate for the 3D-printing of craniomaxillofacial implants.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1376
Pages (from-to)e1376
JournalPolymers
Volume14
Issue number7
Early online date28 Mar 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 28 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The North-West Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (NW CAM) project is supported by the European Union?s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The views and opinions in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission or the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). If you would like further information about NW CAM please contact the lead partner, Catalyst, for details.

Funding Information:
Funding: The North-West Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (NW CAM) project is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The views and opinions in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission or the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). If you would like further information about NW CAM please contact the lead partner, Catalyst, for details.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • fused deposition modelling
  • PEEK
  • bioactive composites
  • doped hydroxyapatite

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