Production and characterization of calcium phosphate (CaP) whisker-reinforced poly(ε-caprolactone) composites as bone regenerative

Calcium phosphate (CaP) whisker-reinforced poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) composites with various CaP contents (0, 5, 10, and 20 wt.%) were prepared by dispersing CaP whiskers in a PCL solution. To accomplish this, CaP whiskers were synthesized by treating tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powders in a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution at 90 °C for 48 h. All the prepared composites showed well dispersed CaP whiskers in the PCL matrix without severe agglomeration. As the CaP content was increased from 0 to 20 wt.%, the ultimate tensile strength decreased from 13.2 ± 0.9 to 8.8 ± 0.4 MPa, while the elastic modulus increased significantly from 173 ± 21 to 334 ± 24 MPa. In addition, the addition of CaP whiskers to the PCL matrix improved the biocompatibility of the composites remarkably.