Rheological characterization, compression, and injection molding of hydroxyapatite-silk fibroin composites.

ABSTRACT: Traditional bone fixation devices made from inert metal alloys provide structural strength for bone repair but are limited in their ability to actively promote bone healing. Although several naturally derived bioactive materials have been developed to promote ossification in bone defects, it is difficult to translate small-scale benchtop fabrication of these materials to high-output manufacturing. Standard industrial molding processes, such as injection and compression molding, have typically been limited to use with synthetic polymers since most biopolymers cannot withstand the harsh processing conditions involved in these techniques. Here we demonstrate injection and compression molding of a bioceramic composite comprised of hydroxyapatite (HA) and silk fibroin (SF) from Bombyx mori silk

SUBMITTER: McNamara SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7870640 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature