Graphene Oxides/Carbon Nanotubes–Hydroxyapatite Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications

Hydroxyapatite (HAP), the main mineral component of bone and tooth enamel, has become an important biomaterial in orthopedic and dental applications. However, its low fracture toughness, poor tensile strength and wear resistance make it not suitable to be used in bone tissue engineering applications, the improvement of mechanical properties of HAP using different additives being still a great challenge. Nowadays, the most used additives for reinforcement are graphene oxide (GO) and single- or multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The present study reports their successful incorporation of MWCNTs and GO (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt%) into the HAP matrix. The prepared HAP-based nanocomposites (NCs) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, laser diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, thermal analysis and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, the UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to investigate the desorption properties of obtained NCs by using ibuprofen, one of the most common prescribed analgesic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It was found that CNTs addition does not have a major influence on desorption efficiency, while the addition of GO evidenced an increase in desorption efficiency over time for all the studied NCs.