Abstract
A micro-computed tomography (μ-CT) image analysis was used in the micro-structural analysis of self-reinforced bioabsorbable osteoconductive composites. The composites studied were known to have a porous structure, but the total porosity of these composites had not been measured due to lack of interconnected pores. The micro-structure of the composites studied has previously been estimated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This yielded a very rough estimation of the micro-structure based only on the surface estimate and thus more precise μ-CT image analyses of the total porosity and volumetric filler distribution were done. The present study was performed on five different composites manufactured with either single-screw or twin-screw extruder. All the samples had the same bioabsorbable matrix polymer, poly-l/dl-lactide 70/30. The filler material was either bioactive glass (BaG) 13-93 or β-tri calcium phosphate (β-TCP). The results illustrate the possibility of μ-CT image analysis for analyzing the micro-structures of the self-reinforced bioabsorbable osteoconductive composites. Especially the three-dimensional volumetric analysis of the filler particle distribution inside the composite showed results not received before.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 534-542 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2011 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
- B. Micro-structures
- D. Non-destructive testing
- E. Extrusion