Reconstruction of anorganic mammalian bone by surface-initiated polymerization of L-lactide

Troy Wiegand, Jeremy Karr, Jay D. Steinkruger, Kris Hiebner, Bobby Simetich, Mark Beatty, Jody Redepenning

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polymerization of L-lactide within the pores of anorganic mammalian bone is described. No additional solvent or catalyst is used. The resulting composites exhibit macroscopic morphologies and mechanical properties similar to that of the original bone. We observe an average compressive strength of 194 MPa and an elastic modulus of 8.8 GPa for composites comprised of poly-L-lactide and anorganic bone derived from bovine femurs. Modeling of the reaction kinetics with synthetic sources of crystalline hydroxyapatite powder suggests that polymerization proceeds via a surface-initiated mechanism that is first order in surface area of hydroxyapatite and first order in mole fraction of L-lactide.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5016-5022
Number of pages7
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume20
Issue number15
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 12 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Materials Chemistry

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