Relationship between Cell Compatibility and Elastic Modulus of Silicone Rubber/Organoclay Nanobiocomposites

Attempts have been made to prepare nanocomposites based on medical grade HTV silicone rubber (SR) and organo-modified montmorillonite nanoclay (OMMT) with varying amounts of clay compositions. Incorporation of the nanosilicate platelets onto the SR matrix was carried out via melt mixing process taking advantage of a Brabender internal mixer. The tensile elastic modulus of the nanocomposites was measured by performing tensile tests on the samples. The produced polydimetylsiloxane (PDMS) composites of different flexibilities and crosslink densities were employed as substrates to investigate biocompatibility, cell compaction and differential behaviors. The results presented here revealed successful nanocomposite formation with SR and OMMT, resulting in strong PDMS-based materials. The results showed that viability, proliferation and spreading of cells are governed by the elastic modulus and stiffness of samples. Furthermore, adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) cultured on PDMS and the corresponding nanocomposites could retain differentiation potential into osteocyte in response to soluble factors, indicating that inclusion of OMMT would not prevent osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, better cell spreading and proliferation was observed for the nanocomposite samples.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nanocomposite ، Elastic Modulus ، Biocompatibility