Manufacture of bone fracture plates based on glass fiber reinforced polyurethane composite: a gravity casting adapted process

ABSTRACT

The development of materials and devices to replace or restore damaged tissue functions has a prominent position in the scientific community, promoting the interest for metal-free alternatives, like composites. These proved to be a promising option as, besides new matrix and reinforcement combinations, new manufacturing methods tend to fulfil tailored requirements of the medical field. In this sense, we manufactured glass fiber/polyurethane composite plates for Osteosynthesis. Models based on commercial LCP implants were 3D printed and used to generated molds through a new adapted resin casting process. Additional mechanical tests showed that reinforcement additions between 10 wt% and 25 wt% caused an increase in the bending structural stiffness by 126%-165% when compared to pure polymer implants. In addition, if the number of holes is increased, from 4 to 6, the maximum stress reduces by 40%. The manufacturing process was an effective alternative as it presented low cost, high customization and allowed the development of complex geometries, resin injection and degassing.

KEYWORDS:

• Plates for osteosynthesis
• manufacturing process
• fracture healing
• gravity casting
• biomaterials

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO [UIDB/00690/2020] and national funding by FCT, PI, through institutional scientific employment program-contracts. Sika, for the material donations.