Affiliations: [a] Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China | [b] School of Life Science and Engineering, Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Synthesis of Natural Drugs, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China | [c] College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Shuxin Qu, Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China. E-mail: qushuxin@swjtu.edu.cn
Note: [†] The first three authors contributed equally and should be regarded as joint first authors.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Inspired by natural bones, many organic components were added to Calcium Phosphate Cements (CPCs) to improve their mechanical strength. However, the strength of these composite CPCs is limited by the low strength of organic components itself and the weak interaction between organic components and CPCs. OBJECTIVE:Firstly, a composite CPC containing mussel-inspired adhesive, Poly-(Dopamine Methacrylamide-co-2-methoxy Ethylacrylate) (pDM) was developed. Secondly, the interactions between pDM and CPC and their effect on mechanical properties were investigated. METHODS:The interactions between pDM and CPC were performed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Laser Raman, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction Analysis. RESULTS:The toughness and compressive strength of pDM-CPC scaffold were both significantly enhanced, because of the enhanced interface binding strength among CPC and pDM due to their interaction and the improved mechanical strength of pDM owing to its self-oxidation cross-linking. The toughness of pDM-CPC scaffolds increased with the increased contents of pDM, while pDM-CPC scaffold containing 35 wt.% pDM had the highest compressive strength of all, which the latter was more than five times compared to that of CPC. CONCLUSION:The mechanically strong pDM-CPC scaffolds has potential application in bone regeneration as well as in craniofacial and orthopedic repair.
