Preparation and characterization of a novel composite containing carboxymethyl cellulose used for bone repair

The composite biomaterial made from nano-hydroxyapatite(n-HA) and chitosan(CS) cross-linked with carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC) by a co-solution method has been studied. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectra (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), burn-out test, chemical analysis, transmission electron microscope(TEM) and universal material testing machine were used to test the properties of the composite. The experiment of SBF soaking for 8 weeks was used to investigate their degradation and bioactivity in vitro. The results show that the formation of composite is mainly contributed to the ionic cross-linking of CMC with CS, and n-HA particles in the form of nanometer grade short crystals are uniformly distributed in the organic network structure of polyelectrolyte complexes, which endows the composite with high compressive strength and good bioactivity. The compressive strength and degradation rate are concerned with the content of n-HA. It can be stated that the n-HA/CS/CMC composite whose weight ratio is 40/30/30 may be a potential candidate as one of novel bone repair materials because of its high compressive strength and acceptable degradation rate as well as good bioactivity, displaying a promising prospect of the clinical application of CMC-contained composite in the field of bone repair.