UC Riverside

Polymer nanocomposites are polymeric matrices doped with various nanomaterials, including nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanoplatelets, and nanosheets, which could possess combined properties of polymer and nanomaterials. In biomedical fields, some metal oxide nanoparticles, such as MgO, ZnO, and carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotube (CNT), graphene (Gr), and GnPs, have shown attractive features. MgO and ZnO could serve as a crosslinking agent in the polymeric matrix and provide enhanced mechanical properties. Meanwhile, MgO and ZnO showed good antibacterial and antimicrobial activity. In addition, they could be fully metabolized and resorbed in the body. Carbon-based nanomaterial exhibited outstanding mechanical and electrical properties.This study investigated the influence and performances of MgO, ZnO, and GnPs doped PGS elastomer. We synthesized triphasic PGS nanocomposites with GnPs, MgO, and ZnO nanomaterials. The results indicated improved mechanical strength and electric conductivity. In addition, we synthesized PGS-GnPs nanocomposites with different GnPs contents from 25 wt.% to 0.1 wt.%. With high GnPs contents (above 10 wt.% of GnPs), the nanocomposite exhibited enhanced electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and piezoresistive behavior. Meanwhile, the cytocompatibility evaluation through in vitro study with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) indicated the dose-dependent toxicity of GnPs. With low GnPs content (lower than 1 wt.%), the GnPs didn’t reduce the adherence or proliferation of BMSCs.