Abstract
Resin composite bone implants have recently been developed. Their foundation is relying on thermoplastic or thermoset resin systems with high-aspect-ratio fillers and bioactive compounds. This research sets out to evaluate some physical and biological properties of thermoplastic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as an implant material. PMMA specimens were fabricated via heat curing method for optimizing biocompatibility of the polymer phase. In control group (C), PMMA was used as such, whereas in remaining two groups either single-walled CNTs (SW) or multi-walled CNTs (MW) were added at 0.5 wt% to the resin monomer system. Physical properties were quantitatively evaluated using non-contact surface profilometer, atomic force microscope (AFM) and surface tensiomter. While the biological properties were investigated using cell viability and differentiation potential of hTERT-MSC-CL1 cells. The surface roughness and hydrophobicity of SW were statistically higher (ANOVA, p <= 0.05) compared to the control (C). The incorporation of CNTs, irrespective of their type, demonstrated an insignificant effect on the cultured MSCs, compared to the control. All specimens demonstrated favourable osteoblast differentiation potential when observed under Alizarin red-S staining. The addition of single and multi-walled CNTs in PMMA resin matrix may have beneficial surface characteristics. The CNTs incorporated bone implants may allow growth and adherence of new bone tissue around the implant.