Desenvolvimento de estruturas compostas de PEEK para cranioplastia.

Abstract

Cranio-encephalic trauma (TBI) is a common situation in trauma hospitals and has become responsible for the high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide, thus constituting a public health problem with great socioeconomic impact due to its consequences. The ECT can present in several ways, however, they need early recognition in both primary care and clinical and neurological examination to initiate advanced procedures to support life and reduce the incidence of neuronal lesions secondary to trauma. When the victim of TBI is affected by injuries to the skullcap where there is a need for grafting, there is a difficulty regarding bone replacement and the availability of suitable materials at an affordable cost. With the evolution of biomaterials, alloplastics have been used more frequently in TCE, among them Polyether ether-ketone (PEEK), which is a biocompatible polymer of high performance when compared to traditional polymers. Therefore, this work aims to develop and evaluate composite structures of PEEK for the accomplishment of Cranioplasty. The samples were obtained through the compression technique, modulating the porosity of the phases using sodium chloride (NaCl), which were later leached to form the pores. The raw material was characterized by Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transform (FTIR), Differential Exploration Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetry (TG). For the samples that simulated the skull cap were characterized by Optical Microscopy (MO), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Wettability by contact angle measurement, Compression Resistance and Cytotoxicity. In the FTIR result, typical bands of PEEK absorption were observed. By the DSC analysis it was possible to observe the behavior of a semicrystalline material, in relation to the values obtained in the TG test, PEEK presents only a mass loss peak corresponding to degradation, with a loss of mass of 46.91% which starts at 532 ° C and goes up to 700 ° C. When analyzing the surface morphology of the samples, an apparently rugose surface without pores was observed, it was also seen that the surface that comes in contact with the salt tablet has a certain orientation preferable, possibly accentuated by the finishing process. In the AFM, all the samples have a rough surface, with a preferred orientation in the chains (parallel grooves), which corroborates the images obtained by optical microscopy. In the result of the wettability, the samples showed a contact angle around 50 to 60 ° indicating a characteristic profile of hydrophilic material. In the compressive strength it was verified that the maximum deformation of the samples was approximately 20% and the minimum deformation was almost 13.78%. The cytotoxicity assay indicated the biocompatibility of the material. It is concluded that the results point to the effectiveness of the methodology used, promisingly mimicking the basic structure of the skull cap, and it is possible to infer that the samples have potential to be used in cranioplasty.