Gamma irradiation processing of hydroxyapatite/poly-L-lactide composite biomaterial

Effects of gamma irradiation on structure and physicochemical properties of the hydroxyapatite/poly-L-lactide (HAp/PLLA) composite were studied in this paper. Since the morphology of HAp/PLLA is very sensitive to gamma irradiation, surface microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Structural changes occurring in the material, mostly changes in PLLA which is more sensitive to irradiation than HAp, were studied by wide angle X-ray structural analyses and infrared spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements were used to study the changes in thermal behavior and crystallinity. Conclusions derived according to different methods were compared. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.10th Tihany Symposium on Radiation Chemistry, Aug 31-Sep 05, 2002, Sopron, Hungar