This research aims to the investigation of the effect of titanium nanoparticles as reinforcement material in polymer composites fabricated by stereolithography technique on mechanical properties and activity in L929 cells. Titanium reinforcement was used at 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1% by weight.
Various modelling and characterization methods were used. To examine the activity in L929 cells, five distinct three-dimensional models were drawn in the computer-aided design environment. The model with the highest surface area was selected for further fabrication. The activities in cells of the fabricated composites were determined by cell culture, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) analyses. The structural and morphological properties were determined by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and contact angle analyses. Tensile, three-point bending and hardness tests were used to determine mechanical properties.
Increasing titanium nanoparticle content enhanced mechanical properties. The composite samples with 0.1 Wt.% reinforcement demonstrated enhancements of up to 60% in flexural and tensile strengths and 23% in hardness values. In cell activities, it was determined that the composite sample containing 0.025 Wt.% reinforcement achieved the highest activity and energy production, with increases of up to 13% and 25% in both MTT and ATP analyses, respectively.
This research offers a novel perspective on the beneficial impact of using titanium nanoparticles as a reinforcement material in polymer composites fabricated by the stereolithography technique on the mechanical properties and L929 cell activities, thereby making an important and innovative contribution to the current knowledge in this field.
