Composites for Biomedical Applications

In the past few years, significant progress in the study of scaffolds for cells grow has taken place. This research has led to the development of a wide variety of metallic, polymeric, ceramic and composite biomaterials. This thesis describes the development of a novel composite system with tunable morphological and mechanical properties, ease of production and capability to guide the biological response. The composite system was composed by polyamide 6 (PA6) and carboxyl-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), which were used as reinforcement agents in the polymer matrix. Electrospinning was used as the fabrication technique for the production of anisotropic networks. Physical and biological properties of the nets were evaluated focusing on the effect of the filler addition. It was observed that the production technique induced the alignment of MWCNT within the nanofiber axis and the formation of a roughness on the fiber's surface. The biological properties of MG63 and MRC5 cell lines were enhanced if compared with the neat PA6 networks due to surface modification caused by the filler addition.