Recently, different carbon-based nanomaterials have been used as reinforcing agents in acrylic bone cement formulations. Among them, graphene oxide (GO) has attracted the attention of scientific community since it could improve not only the mechanical properties but also the biocompatibility characteristics of these materials. However, using GO presents some drawbacks, such as its poor dispersion and lack of interaction with polymeric matrices, which should be prior resolved to achieve its optimal performance in acrylic bone cement. Thus, in this work, GO was treated with 3-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxy silane at various concentrations (1, 3 and 5 wt.%) to improve the interaction between the nanofiller and the poly (methyl methacrylate) matrix. Modified GO was incorporated at different percentages (0.1, 0.5 and 0.75 wt.%) into acrylic bone cement formulations and some properties were evaluated. The silanization process of the GO was confirmed by FTIR, TGA and EDX. The improvement in the mechanical performance was monitored on the compression properties whereas those related with biological properties were evaluated by osteoblast cell viability and hemocompatibility tests. Results suggest that using a 1 wt.% of the silane coupling agent, during surface treatment of GO, yields the best mechanical performance in this type of materials. It was also found that the presence of neat GO or silanized GO does not compromise the cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility of acrylic bone cement formulations.
Keywords: Acrylic bone cements; cytocompatibility; graphene oxide; improved mechanical properties; silanization.