The major drawback associated with PEEK implants is their biologically inert surface, which caused unsatisfactory cellular response and poor adhesion between the implants and surrounding soft tissues against proper bone growth. In this study, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was incorporated with Calcium Hydroxyapatite (cHAp) to fabricate a PEEK/cHAp biocomposite, using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method and a surface treatment strategy to create microporous architectures onto the filaments of PEEK lattice scaffold. Also, nanostructure and morphological tests of the PEEK-cHAp biocomposite were modeled and analyzed on the FDM-printed PEEK-cHAp biocomposite sample to evaluate its mechanical and thermal strengths as well as in vitro cytotoxicity via a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A technique was used innovatively to create and investigate the porous nanostructure of the PEEK with controlled pore size and distribution to promote cell penetration and biological integration of the PEEK-cHAp into the tissue. In vivo tests demonstrated that the surface-treated micropores facilitated the adhesion of newly regenerated soft tissues to form tight implant-tissue interfacial bonding between the cHAp and PEEK. The results of the cell culture depicted that PEEK/HAp exhibited better cell proliferation attachment spreading and higher alkaline phosphatase activity than PEEK alone. Apatite islands formed on the PEEK/HAp composite after immersion in simulated body fluid of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) for 14 days and grew continuously with more or extended periods. The microstructure treatment of the crystallinity of PEEK was comparatively and significantly different from the PEEK-cHAp sample, indicating a better treatment of PEEK/cHAp. The in vitro results obtained from the PEEK-cHAp biocomposite material showed its biodegradability and performance suitability for bone implants. This study has potential applications in the field of biomedical engineering to strengthen the conceptual knowledge of FDM and medical implants fabricated from PEEK-cHAp biocomposite materials.

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The addition of biomaterials such as Calcium hydroxyapatite (cHAp) and incorporation of porosity into polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) are effective ways to improve bone-implant interfaces and osseointegration of PEEK composite. Hence, the morphological effects of nanocomposite on surfaces biocompatibility of a newly fabricated composite of PEEK polymer and cHAp for a bone implant, using additive manufacturing (AM) were investigated.Fused deposition modeling (FDM) method and a surface treatment strategy were employed to create a microporous scaffold. PEEK osteointegration was slow and, therefore, it was accelerated by surface coatings with the incorporation of bioactive cHAp, with enhanced mechanical and biological behaviors for bone implants.Characterization of the new PEEK/cHAp composite was done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mechanical tests of traction and flexion, thermal dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Also, the PEEK/cHAp induced the formation of apatite after immersion in the simulated body fluid of DMEM for different days to check its biological bioactivity for an implant. In-vivo results depicted that the osseointegration and the biological activity around the PEEK/cHAp composite were higher than that of PEEK. The increase in the mechanical performance of cHAp-coated PEEK can be attributed to the increase in the degree of crystallinity and accumulation of residual polymer.

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Research and development on PEEK composites with high thermal conductivities and ideal thermal stabilities have become one of the hot topics in composites. However, not all PEEK composites have the necessary characteristics adequate fracture toughness to resist forces and crack propagation, with an improved mechanical and structural properties. This research evaluates a novel computational surface characterisation, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of polyetheretherketone and hydroxyapatite Graphene oxide (PEEK-HAP-GO) in the process of 3D printing to improve fracture toughness to resist forces and crack propagation. It also focuses on increasing the hydrophilicity, surface roughness, and coating osteoconductive of PEEK-HAP-GO for the bone implant. Compression and tensile tests were performed to investigate the mechanical properties of the PEEK-HAP-GO structure. The addition of calcium phosphate and the incorporation of porosity in PEEK-HAP-GO has been identified as an effective way to improve the osseointegration of bone-implant interfaces of PEEK-HAP-GO. The further analytical structure of the particle was performed, evaluating the surface luminance structure and the profile structure of composite material in 3D printing, analysing the profile curve of the nanostructure from the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of the uniaxial compression tests in new PEEK-HAP-GO biodegradable materials show good compressive strength suitable for loading applications. It shows Melt-blending with bioactive nanoparticles can be used to produce bioactive nanocomposites like HAP-GO and is used to modify the surface structure of PEEK implants in order to make it more bioactive.