Mechanical properties and cell viability of MgO-reinforced biografts fabricated for biomedical applications

In the present study, biografts were produced by sol gel method by adding different rates of MgO which has bone-like crystal structure and high endurance into different proportions of Ca(NO3)24H2O, KOH, NaNO3, and P2O5 compounds. The biografts were investigated in terms of mechanical and biocompatibility properties. FTIR, SEM and XRD analyses were carried out to examine the chemical characteristics and changes in structural morphology. Mechanical properties were also investigated by conducting hardness and compression tests. In addition, cytotoxicity tests were conducted by using osteoblast cells. While results of FTIR and XRD analyses revealed that all biografts had HA (hydroxyapatite) and β-TCP contents, MgO peaks were also observed in biografts. In SEM images, grains of Non- MgO and MgO-10 biografts had sharper edges, pores formed between grains and grain size increase with increasing MgO amount (MgO-20 and MgO-30). It was found that compression stress and hardness values increased as MgO content elevated. From the cytotoxicity tests, no any toxic effect was observed in the syntesized biografts.