Fabrication and Characterization of Bioactive Ceramic Materials for Bone Tissue Applications

Abstract

Carbon-based nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon dots, have emerged as promising candidates for applications in bone tissue regeneration and engineering due to their benefits of being light weight, mechanical stability, and remarkable ability for bone repair. However, their toxicity and dispersity are the most significant concern and greatly limiting their suitability for clinical applications. In this thesis, the surface modification of carbon black particles (CBs) based on core–shell structure design as promising candidate materials for bone tissue engineering applications has been fabricated. This work not only focuses on the synthesis of TiC/TiO2/SrCO3-coated carbon black particles through molten-salt synthesis and hydrothermal processes, but also the fabrication of a porous structure of mixed oxide phases with titanium carbide on CBs through molten-salt synthesis and calcination at various temperatures. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of temperature on crystal structure, morphologies, surface wettability, and biological functions of the prepared particles. Phase compositions and morphologies were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Core-shell structure was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Furthermore, the biological properties of as-synthesized bioceramic particles were evaluated using the osteoblast (MG-63) cell line. Cell viability, cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), calcium deposition, and protein synthesis of the particles were assessed to gain insights into the interactions between the particles and bone cells. The results demonstrated that reaction temperature played a pivotal role in determining the bioactive properties of the synthesized bioceramic particles. Specifically, increased hydrothermal and thermal treatment temperatures lead to enhanced crystallite size, surface roughness, wettability, and biological functions of the as-synthesized particles. In addition, the investigation pointed that the development of novel and improved bioceramic materials with enhanced bioactivity not only results in more effective treatments for bone defects but also contributes significantly to the advancement of regenerative approaches in bone tissue engineering applications.