The effect of ethenyltrimethoxysilane modification of nano bioactive glass on the physiochemical and mechanical properties and in vitro bioactivity of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/poly(trimethylene carbonate) composite

A new method was adopted to improve the dispersion of nanoparticles in a polymer matrix. The nano bioactive glass (NBG) was successfully modified by silane coupling agent ethenyltrimethoxysilane (YDH171). A series of PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composites with different amounts of surface modifier YDH-NBG were prepared by solution co-precipitation. The mechanical properties, fracture morphology, thermal properties, crystallization process, surface water wettability, biomineralization in vitro and bioactivity in vitro of PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composites were investigated. The results showed that a higher amount of YDH-NBG would cause agglomeration in the PLGA/PTMC composite and reduce the mechanical properties of the PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composite, although it could promote the PLGA crystallization. The PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composite containing 5 wt% YDH-NBG had the best mechanical properties and crystallinity among all ternary composites. The POM results showed that PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG had the fastest crystallization rate, which indicated that YDH-NBG acted as a nucleating agent and might have a synergetic effect on the accelerated PLGA crystallization. When adding YDH-NBG, the contact angle of the ternary composite increased. Moreover, the PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composite exhibited good biomineralization, better biocompatibility and no toxicity. Therefore, we concluded that PLGA/PTMC/YDH-NBG composites appear to be a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering.