Fabrication of Fe₃O₄/PLLA composites for use in bone tissue engineering

The aim of this study was to incorporate nanoscale Fe₃O₄ particles into a poly-l-lactide (PLLA) matrix to fabricate a magnetic and biodegradable composite. The physical and osteogenic functions of this material were tested. Injection molding was used to fabricate four nano-Fe₃O₄/PLLA composites with Fe₃O₄ mix ratios of 0%, 20%, 30%, and 40% (w/w). X-ray diffraction and hysteresis loop tests were performed to evaluate the physical properties of the nano-Fe₃O₄/PLLA composites. Tensile strength tests showed that the progressive addition of nano-Fe₃O₄ particles to the PLLA matrix results in higher elastic modulus and lower tensile strength. Images from scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that osteoblasts cultured on the 20% nano-Fe₃O₄/PLLA surface exhibited abundant filaments, which are a morphologic characteristic of osteoblastic differentiation. These results suggest that the 20% nano-Fe₃O₄/PLLA composite used in this study has the potential for future tissue engineering applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2881–2888, 2017.