Preparation and characterization of bioactive and degradable composites containing ordered mesoporous calcium-magnesium silicate and poly(l-lactide)

Abstract Polylactide (PLA) and its copolymers have been widely used for bone tissue regeneration. In this study, a bioactive composite of ordered mesoporous calcium–magnesium silicate (m-CMS) and poly( l -lactide) (PLLA) was fabricated by melt blending method. The results indicated that the m-CMS particles were entrapped by polymer phase, and crystallinity of PLLA significantly decreased while the thermal stability of the m-CMS/PLLA composites was not obviously affected by addition of the m-CMS into PLLA. In addition, compared to PLLA, incorporation of the m-CMS into PLLA significantly improved the hydrophilicity, in vitro degradability and bioactivity (apatite-formation ability) of the m-CMS/PLLA composite, which were m-CMS content dependent. Moreover, it was found that incorporation of the m-CMS into PLLA could neutralize the acidic degradation by-products and thus compensated for the decrease of pH value. In cell culture experiments, the results showed that the composite enhanced attachment, proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) of MC3T3-E1 cells, which were m-CMS content dependent. The results indicated that the addition of bioactive materials to PLLA could result in a composite with improved properties of hydrophilicity, degradability, bioactivity and cytocompatibility.