In recent years, researchers working in biomedical science and technology have investigated alternatives for enhancing the mechanical properties of biomedical materials. In this work, sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel-reinforced nanoparticles (NPs) of hydroxyapatite (HA) were prepared to enhance the mechanical properties of this polymer. Compression tests showed an increase of 354.54% in ultimate compressive strength (UCS), and 154.36% in Young's modulus with the addition of these NPs compared with pure SA. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the amount of residual water is not negligible and covered a range from 20 to 35 wt%, and the decomposition degree of the alginate depends on the hydroxyapatite content, possibly due to the displacement of sodium ions by the hydroxyapatite and not by calcium chloride. Further, there is an important effect possibly due to the existence of an interaction of hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl of the alginate and the oxygen atoms of the hydroxyapatite, so signals appear upfield in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. An increase in the accumulation of HA particles was observed with the use of X-ray microtomography, in which the quantified volume of particles per reconstructed volume corresponded accordingly to the increase in the mechanical properties of the hydrogel.

Biomedical Engineering Program Universidad de Monterrey Av Morones Prieto 4500 Pte San Pedro Garza García 66238 Mexico

Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial Sede Nuevo León 66629 Mexico

Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Prosecká 76 190 00 Prague Czech Republic

Engineering Department Universidad de Monterrey Av Morones Prieto 4500 Pte San Pedro Garza García 66238 Mexico

Procesos de Polimerización Centro de Investigación en Química Aplicada Blvd Enrique Reyna No 140 Saltillo 25294 Mexico

Síntesis de Polímeros Centro de Investigación en Química Aplicada Blvd Ing Enrique Reyna No 140 Saltillo 25294 Mexico

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