Preparation and characterization of hydrophilic composites AA/EPMA loaded with hydroxyapatite.

Abstract

Copolymeric composites of acrylamide (AA) and 2,3-epoxypropyl methacrylate (EPMA) with hydroxyapatite (HA) load were studied. Swelling studies reports an anomalous or non-Fickian behavior following a good fitting to a pseudo second order mathematical treatment (α = 0.05, p < 0.0001). The composites showed a strong dependence on pH, related with the variations in the swelling behavior. The addition of load induces a diminution of swelling capacity and an increase of diametric tensile strength (DTS) ranging between 20 and 90 kPa. The calorimetric experiments showed two steps at 78°C and 255°C assigned to water loss and samples Tg. The drug control released was adjusted to a two-term equation obtaining a diffusion coefficient around 10(-5) cm(2) /s. The samples showed a significant bioactivity in vitro and it was certified by SEM, EDS and surface area calculus.