Pre-dispersed organo-montmorillonite (organo-MMT) nanofiller: Morphology, cytocompatibility and impact on flexibility, toughness and biostability of biomedical ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer

Polymer-clay based nanocomposites are among the attractive materials to be applied for various applications, including biomedical. The incorporation of the nano sized clay (nanoclay) into polymer matrices can result in their remarkable improvement in mechanical, thermal and barrier properties as long as the nanofillers are well exfoliated and dispersed throughout the matrix. In this work, exfoliation strategy through pre-dispersing process of the organically modified montmorillonite (organo-MMT) nanofiller was done to obtain ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) nanocomposite with improved flexibility, toughness, thermal stability and biostability. Our results indicated that the degree of organo-MMT exfoliation affects its cytotoxicity level and the properties of the resulting EVA nanocomposite. The pre-dispersed organo-MMT by ultrasonication in water possesses higher degree of exfoliation as compared to its origin condition and significantly performed reduced cytotoxicity level. Beneficially, this nanofiller also enhanced the EVA flexibility, thermal stability and biostability upon the in vitro exposure. We postulated that these were due to plasticizing effect and enhanced EVA-nanofiller interactions contributing to more stable chemical bonds in the main copolymer chains. Improvement in copolymer flexibility is beneficial for close contact with human soft tissue, while enhancement in toughness and biostability is crucial to extend its life expectancy as insulation material for implantable device.