Improving bioactivity and strength of PEEK composite polymer for bone application

Poly-Ether-Ketone (PEEK) is a bioactive material capable of replacing traditional metal and ceramic components in biomedical applications but still lacks some strength and biological propertices compared with natural bone. In this research, calcium hydroxyapatite (cHAp) and reduced Graphene oxide (rGO) were combined with PEEK, and different lattice porose structures were produced to improve interfaces biocompatibility and mimick the bone. The FDM method was used to obtain PEEK, and rGOcHAP composites were coated, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to simulate the different lattice conditions of varying ratio. The new PEEK/rGO/cHAP composite characterisation was obtained by SEM analysis and the mechanical strength via compressive and tensile test. The composite with the highest proportion of rGO of 5% shows more biocompatibility and mechanical strength. The Young modulus and bulk modulus of PEEK increase exponentially with the increase of rGOcHAP from 3.85Gpa to 54.965% of 5 wt% addition of rGO. Also, PEEK/rGo/cHAp induces cell formation after several days of immersion in body fluids simulated with Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) and Nutrient Agar Solution (NAS) to determine their biological bioactivity. The In vivo experiments showed that cell aggregation and biological activity around PEEK/rGO/cHAP composite were higher than PEEK and the NAS shows more cell growth and bioactivity than DMEM.