PCEC-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ hybrid materials

The polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone triblock polymer (PCEC) and the PCEC end caped with triethoxysilane were synthesized for the organic-inorganic hybrid materials fabrication. The characteristic absorption bands at 3 440, 1 732, 1 242 and 1 106 cm^-1 assigned to PCEC, as well as absorption bands at 3 350 cm^-1 and 1 531 cm^-1 assigned to the urethane bond of the end caped PCEC were revealed by the FTIR spectra. The hybrid PCEC-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ material was synthesized by the end caped PCEC with tetraethyl orthosilicate, calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and triethyl phosphate via a sol-gel method. The bioactivity of the PCEC-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ hybrid material was assessed using simulated body fluid. SEM pictures display that precipitate with the calcium phosphate was presented on the surface after soaking for 24 h. XRD results show that the diffraction peaks of precipitate have the characteristic of hydroxyapatite. It is also revealed that the polymer hydrophobicity would influence the precipitate formation on the hybrid material surface. The mechanics performance test shows that with the increase of PEG content in the polymer, the compression modulus increases from 6.9 MPa to 65 MPa. The cell viability experiments show that PCEC-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ hybrid material has no significant cytotoxic.