Mechanical evaluation of polylactic acid (PLA) based composites reinforced with hydroxyapatite

EZEQUIEL PÉREZ; LEONARDO PAZOS; CELINA BERNAL; PATRICIA EISENBERG

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; Comat 2015; 2015

ITPN

Implantable metallic biomedical devices are currently used to promote the bone healing process. However, adverse responses have been reported for metallic implants. Biopolymers represent a viable alternative to metals. The biodegradation process is close related to material properties, implant geometry, etc. Polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA), their blends and composites have been successfully applied for medical devices. In the present work, PLA based composites reinforced with 1 and 2.5 %wt of hydroxyapatite were prepared. Uniaxial tensile tests and quasi-static fracture tests were performed on these composites. The composite with larger filler content, exhibited reduced tensile and fracture toughness in comparison to neat PLA whereas the composite with 1 %wt. of filler displayed the highest fracture toughness and similar ductility than the matrix.