Mechanical and thermal properties of biodegradable hydroxyapatite/poly(sorbitol sebacate malate) composites

In this project, novel hydroxyapatite (HAp)/poly(sorbitol sebacate malate) (PSSM) composites for potential application in soft tissue engineering were developed. The composites consist of the biodegradable polyester prepared from sorbitol,sebacic acid, malic acid and various amount of HAp (5, 10, and 15 wt%). Effects of different weight percents of HAp on theproperties of the composites were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was performed to analyze chemical interactions between HAp/PSSM. Tensile tests and differential scanning calorimetry were conducted to evaluate the mechanicaland thermal properties of HAp/PSSM composites. Tensile testing on HAp/PSSM composites showed that their mechanicalproperties improved with increasing concentration of HAp. The Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the compositesranged from 16.20±1.73 to 23.96±2.56 MPa and 626.96±81.04 to 1,026.46±105.12 MPa, respectively. The glass transition temperature of all samples was slightly higher than room temperature.