Investigations on the mechanical properties of glass fiber/sisal fiber/chitosan reinforced hybrid polymer sandwich composite scaffolds for bone fracture fixation applications

This study aims to explore the mechanical properties of hybrid glass fiber (GF)/sisal fiber (SF)/chitosan (CTS) composite material for orthopedic long bone plate applications. The GF/SF/CTS hybrid composite possesses a unique sandwich structure and comprises GF/CTS/epoxy as the external layers and SF/CTS/epoxy as the inner layers. The composite plate resembles the human bone structure (spongy internal cancellous matrix and rigid external cortical). The mechanical properties of the prepared hybrid sandwich composites samples were evaluated using tensile, flexural, micro hardness, and compression tests. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images were studied to analyze the failure mechanism of these composite samples. Besides, contact angle (CA) and water absorption tests were conducted using the sessile drop method to examine the wettability properties of the SF/CTS/epoxy and GF/SF/CTS/epoxy composites. Additionally, the porosity of the GF/SF/CTS composite scaffold samples were determined by using the ethanol infiltration method. The mechanical test results show that the GF/SF/CTS hybrid composites exhibit the bending strength of 343 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 146 MPa, and compressive strength of 380 MPa with higher Young’s modulus in the bending tests (21.56 GPa) compared to the tensile (6646 MPa) and compressive modulus (2046 MPa). Wettability study results reveal that the GF/SF/CTS composite scaffolds were hydrophobic (CA = 92.41° ± 1.71°) with less water absorption of 3.436% compared to the SF/CTS composites (6.953%). The SF/CTS composites show a hydrophilic character (CA = 54.28° ± 3.06°). The experimental tests prove that the GF/SF/CTS hybrid composite can be used for orthopedic bone fracture plate applications in future.