Novel bulk carbon nanotube materials for implant by spark plasma sintering.

Novel, bulk multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) sintered with polycarbosilane (PCS) as a binder agent were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and their microstructure and properties were investigated. Sintering was done with 20-60 MPa pressure at 1200 degrees C. SEM and TEM observations showed that the nanosized tube microstructure was preserved even after sintering, and tubes adhered to each other with the nanosized nodules of SiC pyrolyzed form PCS as revealed by X-ray diffraction. Bulk density and Vickers hardness were found to increase, whereas the specific surface area decreased, as PCS content and sintering pressure increased. Through animal experiments, the inflammatory reaction of CNTs/PCS material was found to be slightly increased with increasing PCS content. In conclusion, sintered CNTs had physical and mechanical properties close to bone, and their good biocompatibility based on tissue response served to pave their way as a suitable implant material in the future.

[1]  T. Seguchi,et al.  Fine SiC fiber synthesized from organosilicon polymers: relationship between spinning temperature and melt viscosity of precursor polymers , 2001 .

[2]  Yu Zhou,et al.  Spark plasma sintering of functionally graded material in the Ti–TiB2–B system , 2005 .

[3]  A. Iles,et al.  Encapsulation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in Ba(2+)-alginate to form coated micro-beads and their application to the pre-concentration/elimination of dibenzo-p-dioxin, dibenzofuran, and biphenyl from contaminated water. , 2004, The Analyst.

[4]  Kazuchika Tamura,et al.  Effects of Particle Size on Cell Function and Morphology in Titanium and Nickel , 2002 .

[5]  E. Fitzer,et al.  Effect of hot-pressing on the structure of carbon artifacts , 1970 .

[6]  Hui‐Ming Cheng,et al.  The effect of grinding on the sintering of raw petroleum coke , 1997 .

[7]  Riyi Shi,et al.  Decreased functions of astrocytes on carbon nanofiber materials. , 2004, Biomaterials.

[8]  T. Akasaka,et al.  Apatite formation on carbon nanotubes , 2006 .

[9]  M. Nygren,et al.  On the preparation of bio-, nano- and structural ceramics and composites by spark plasma sintering , 2003 .

[10]  M. Toriyama,et al.  Very Rapid Densification of Nanometer Silicon Carbide Powder by Pulse Electric Current Sintering , 2004 .

[11]  T. Webb,et al.  Comparative pulmonary toxicity assessment of single-wall carbon nanotubes in rats. , 2003, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[12]  Y. Nodasaka,et al.  Influence of length on cytotoxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes against human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 in vitro and subcutaneous tissue of rats in vivo. , 2005, Molecular bioSystems.

[13]  T. Webster,et al.  Selective bone cell adhesion on formulations containing carbon nanofibers. , 2003, Biomaterials.

[14]  Yucheng Wang,et al.  Study of temperature field in spark plasma sintering , 2002 .

[15]  H. Conrad.  Electroplasticity in metals and ceramics , 2000 .

[16]  F. Watari,et al.  X-ray absorption fine structure studies on the local structures of Ni impurities in a carbon nanotube , 2005 .

[17]  C. Pantano,et al.  Synthesis of Silicon Carbide Thin Films with Polycarbosilane (PCS) , 2005 .

[18]  A. Odeshi,et al.  A cost effective route for the densification of carbon–carbon composites , 2003 .

[19]  Y. Nodasaka,et al.  Caged multiwalled carbon nanotubes as the adsorbents for affinity-based elimination of ionic dyes. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  Motohiro Uo,et al.  Fabrication of Titanium Nitride/Apatite Functionally Graded Implants by Spark Plasma Sintering , 2004 .

[21]  Y. Nodasaka,et al.  Large-Scale Production of Ba2+–Alginate-Coated Vesicles of Carbon Nanofibers for DNA-Interactive Pollutant Elimination , 2004 .

[22]  M. Goto,et al.  Rapid baking of graphite powders by the spark plasma sintering method , 2000 .

[23]  T. Akasaka,et al.  Nano-architecture on Carbon Nanotube Surface by Biomimetic Coating , 2005 .

[24]  Hui Hu,et al.  Chemically Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Substrates for Neuronal Growth. , 2004, Nano letters.

[25]  H. Yasuda,et al.  Improvement of fatigue properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) bone cement by means of plasma surface treatment of fillers. , 1999, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[26]  J. James,et al.  Pulmonary toxicity of single-wall carbon nanotubes in mice 7 and 90 days after intratracheal instillation. , 2003, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[27]  K. D. de Jong,et al.  Carbon Nanofibers: Catalytic Synthesis and Applications , 2000 .

[28]  Thomas J Webster,et al.  Enhanced functions of osteoblasts on nanometer diameter carbon fibers. , 2002, Biomaterials.

[29]  V. Colvin.  The potential environmental impact of engineered nanomaterials , 2003, Nature Biotechnology.

[30]  Y. Totsuka,et al.  Analysis of Titanium Dental Implants Surrounding Soft Tissue Using X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) Analysis , 2005 .

[31]  Tsukasa Akasaka,et al.  Biological behavior of hat-stacked carbon nanofibers in the subcutaneous tissue in rats. , 2005, Nano letters.

[32]  S. Iijima.  Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon , 1991, Nature.

[33]  Balachandran Jeyadevan,et al.  Strict preparation and evaluation of water-soluble hat-stacked carbon nanofibers for biomedical application and their high biocompatibility: influence of nanofiber-surface functional groups on cytotoxicity. , 2005, Molecular bioSystems.