Manufacture and characterisation of a bioactive and biodegradable composite developed for bone tissue repair

A bioactive and biodegradable composite containing hydroxyapatite (HA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) was developed for bone tissue repair. A manufacturing process, which consisted of compounding, pelletising, drying, and injection moulding, was established for producing the composite. The HA/PHB composite containing 10, 20, 30 and 40% by volume of particulate HA was successfully made. The distribution of HA particles in the PHB matrix was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed to investigate the melting and crystallization behavior of both compounded and injection moulded HA/PHB composite. © 2005 IEEE.published_or_final_versio