How Surface Properties of Silica Nanoparticles Influence Structural, Microstructural and Biological Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites

The aim of this work was to study effect of the type of silica nanoparticles on the properties of nanocomposites for application in the guided bone regeneration (GBR). Two types of nanometric silica particles with different size, morphology and specific surface area (SSA) i.e., high specific surface silica (hss-SiO(2)) and low specific surface silica (lss-SiO(2)), were used as nano-fillers for a resorbable polymer matrix: poly(L-lactide-co-D,L-lactide), called PLDLA. It was shown that higher surface specific area and morphology (including pore size distribution) recorded for hss-SiO(2) influences chemical activity of the nanoparticle; in addition, hydroxyl groups appeared on the surface. The nanoparticle with 10 times lower specific surface area (lss-SiO(2)) characterized lower chemical action. In addition, a lack of hydroxyl groups on the surface obstructed apatite nucleation (reduced zeta potential in comparison to hss-SiO(2)), where an apatite layer appeared already after 48 h of incubation in the simulated body fluid (SBF), and no significant changes in crystallinity of PLDLA/lss-SiO(2) nanocomposite material in comparison to neat PLDLA foil were observed. The presence and type of inorganic particles in the PLDLA matrix influenced various physicochemical properties such as the wettability, and the roughness parameter note for PLDLA/lss-SiO(2) increased. The results of biological investigation show that the bioactive nanocomposites with hss-SiO(2) may stimulate osteoblast and fibroblast cells’proliferation and secretion of collagen type I. Additionally, both nanocomposites with the nanometric silica inducted differentiation of mesenchymal cells into osteoblasts at a proliferation stage in in vitro conditions. A higher concentration of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was observed on the material modified with hss-SiO(2) silica.