PCL/HYDROXYAPATITE NANOCOMPOSITES FOR BONE REGENERATION: A RHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

Poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL) based materials are widely investigated for bone regeneration techniques. PCL is highly biocompatible and degrades slowly thus providing, in the long time of the degradation, adequate support until bone regeneration is completed. Functionalization of PCL through radical grafting is a powerful tool to modulate properties of interest, such as crystallinity, hydrophilicity, degradation rate and interaction with hydrophilic fillers (1,2). Moreover, there is an increasing demand for novel nanocomposites containing nanocrystalline HA which acts as a support for cell growing. In this work we summarize the morphology and the rheological behaviour of nanocomposites based on functionalized PCL and nanocrystalline HA.