Preparation, characterization, and in vitro biological evaluation of salicylic acid‐modified polyphenylene sulfide/quartz fiber/hydroxyapatite composite with high mechanical property for bone replacement

Abstract The surface inertness of pure polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) limits its application in orthopedic implant materials. On that basis, modified PPS containing hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, that is, SAPPS was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of dihalide monomers and sodium sulfide under high pressure. And consequently, a kind of ternary composite consisting of polyphenylene sulfide salicylate/quartz fiber/hydroxyapatite (SAPPS/QF/HA) was developed. The structure, composition, cross section morphology, degradation behavior, mechanical property, and biological property of all the composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analyzer, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, and in vitro cytocompatibility tests. The composites exhibited good thermal property, which achieved a high melting point (277.8°C) and decomposition temperature (493.9–502.7°C at 5% weight loss). When the mass fraction of 20 wt% QF and 20 wt% HA was added in the pure SAPPS, the bending yield strength and bending modulus of the composite (SAPPS/20QF/20HA) were 177.4 MPa and 8.03 GPa, respectively, which increased by 61.6% and 158.2% compared with that of the pure SAPPS. Observing the considerable proliferation and adhesion of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs) in the experiment, we demonstrated that the SAPPS and its composites were non‐toxic, and the SAPPS/QF/20HA composites had the most prominent effect in promoting the proliferation and adhesion of mBMSCs. Highlights Salicylic acid‐modified polyphenylene sulfide was studied as a biomaterial. The composite material has mechanics matching with human cortical bone. Cell experiments showed that all materials were nontoxic.