Material Mismatch Effect on the Fracture of a Bone-Composite Cement Interface

The interfacial mechanics at the bone-implant interface is a critical issue for implant fixation and the filling of bone defects created by tumors and/or their excision. Our previous study found that micron and nano sizes MgO particles improved the fracture toughness of bone-cement interfaces under tension loading. The strength of bonding of different types of bone with different types of implants may not be the same. The aims of this research were to determine the influences of material mismatch due to bone orientation and a magnesium oxide (MgO) filler material for PMMA bone cement on the mechanical strength between bone and bone cement specimens. This research studied the longitudinal and transverse directions bovine cortical bone as different bone materials and poly Methyl MethAcrylate (PMMA) bone cement with and without MgO additives as different implant materials. The scope of work for this study was: (1) to determine the bending strength and modulus of different bone and bone cement specimens, (2) to determine whether inclusion of MgO particles on PMMA has any influence on these mechanical properties of PMMA, and (3) to determine whether bone orientation and inclusion of MgO particles with PMMA has any influence on the interface strength between bone and PMMA. This study showed that bone orientation has statistically significant effect on the bonding strength between bone and bone cement specimens (P value<0.05). This study also found that while MgO additive decreased the bending strength and modulus of PMMA bone cement, but the inclusion of MgO additives with PMMA bone cement has no statistically significant effect on the bonding strength between bone and bone cement specimens (P value>0.05)