Investigating effects of incorporating antibacterial agent in PEEK to improve mechanical and antibacterial factor

Polyether ether ketone is a high performance semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer of a poly aryl ether ketone group. Poly aryl ether ketone group consists of molecular chain with aromatic backbone connected to each other by ketone and ether groups. Clinically, poly aryl ether ketone has been widely used as a biomaterial for orthopaedic applications, injuries, spine implant and dental implant. Metals such as silver, gold and copper have antibacterial properties, and have emerged as a popular choice for medical devices. The antibacterial properties of silver are due to Ag+ reactions with functional groups such as sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen. The effects of adding an appropriate mixture of Nano-Ag have been investigated. The mechanical properties, morphology and anti-bacterial properties are studied in this article. All the materials including polyether ether ketone granules and silver with <100 nm particle size were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. An internal mixer was used to produce the composites’ granules. Dumbbell shape specimen were prepared by filling into metal moulds and they were pressed in a hot hydraulic press to make the polymer flow in order to have better disturbed fillers in the matrix.The results showed that adding Ag can increase tensile strength for neat PEEK 73N/mm2 to 121N/mm2 for PEEK-Ag composite. Also the results showed that the hardness for neat PEEK is about 82 Gpa and for PEEK-Ag composite is 84 Gpa. It is recommended to add more than 5wt% Nano-silver as an anti-bacterial agent in order to improve anti-bacterial properties.

کلیدواژه ها:

PEEK- Nano composite ، Hardness ، Ultimate tensile strength ، Anti-bacterial agent