3D porous polyurethane (PU)/ triethanolamine modified hydroxyapatite (TEA-HA) nano composite for enhanced bioactivity for biomedical applications

Frequently, escalating cases of accident and donor scarcity worldwide are an indication of the need for alternative to allograft. The main functions of bio nano composite are serving as supportive structure to osteogenic cells in bone tissue engineering. The article reports the development (by foaming) of castor oil-based polyurethane (PU) nano-composites comprising triethanolamine (TEA, 0.1 M) modified nano-hydroxyapatite (TEA-nHA) as filler with 40 wt%. The grafting of TEA as capping agent was used to synthesize nano plates of HA. TEM and SEM techniques indicate that the morphology of TEA-nHA was successfully changed from grain to irregular sheet/plate (30-40 nm). Developed nano composites (PU/TEA-nHA) were characterized by SEM, FTIR and in vitro evaluation. SEM results show that PU/TEA-nHA nano composites have open and interconnected pores with size range of 150-700 mu m. The compressive strength and porosity of composite are 20.7 MPa and <= 82% respectively. Further, In vitro cell culture and SBF studies showed cytocompatibility of these novel engineered surfaces could maintained exponential growth up-to 8-day time span and improved cell viability, as compared to neat (PU) composite. Overall, these developed surfaces improve cell growth indicating that PU/TEA-nHA nano composites has the potential to be for rapid tissue (bone) regeneration.