Fabrication of Hydroxyapatite/Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate/Polyamide 66 Composite Scaffolds by the Injection-Molding Method

Abstract

This research investigated the injection-molding techniques to produce hydroxyapatite (HA)/ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/polyamide 66 (PA66) composite scaffolds. The effects of HA, EVA, azodicarbonamide (AC) content and shot size on the mechanical properties, pore morphology, porosity and crystallization behavior of the composite scaffolds were analyzed by XRD, DSC, SEM and mechanical test. The compressive modulus and strength of the HA/EVA/PA66 scaffolds with a pore size of 200–600 µm are close to the cancellous bone. Compared with common methods to fabricate scaffolds, this process makes the fabrication of composite scaffolds come true in a rapid and convenient manner.

Keywords:

• Ethylene-vinyl acetate
• Hydroxyapatite
• Injection-molding
• Mechanical properties
• Polyamide 66
• Scaffolds

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge China 863 funds (No. 2007AA03Z328766) and China 973 funds (No. 2007CB936102) for the financial support.

Notes

Song Zhou and Li Zhang contributed equally to the article.