Mechanical properties of nanohydroxyapatite reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) gel composites as biomaterial

Nanohydroxyapatite reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) gel (nano-HA/PVA gel) composites has been proposed as a promising biomaterial, especially used as an articular cartilage repair biomaterial. In this paper, nano-HA/PVA gel composites were prepared from mixing nano-HA particles modified by silicon coupling agent, with physiological saline solution (PSS) of PVA by freezing-thawing method. The effects of various factors on the mechanical properties of nano-HA/PVA gel composites were evaluated. It was shown that the mechanical behavior of nano-HA/PVA gel composites was similar to that of natural articular cartilage, which held special viscoelastic characteristics. The tensile strength and tensile modulus of the composites improved correspondingly with the increase of freezing-thawing times and concentration of PVA solution. The more concentration of PVA solution, the higher influence degree of concentration on the tensile strength of composites is. The tensile strength and tensile modulus of nano-HA/PVA hydrogel composites increased first and then decreased with the rising nano-HA content of the composites. The tensile modulus of the composites improved remarkably with the increase of elongation ratio.