Received: 13 October 2008, Revised: 19 June 2009, Accepted: 24 August 2009, Published online in Wiley Online Library: 11 October 2009 Preparation, mechanical properties, and in vitro biocompatibility of novel nanocomposites based on polyhexamethylene carbonate fumarate and nanohydroxyapatite Shahriar Sharifi a * , Mehdi Kamali b , Nima Khadem Mohtaram a , Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar c , Sayed Mahmood Rabiee d , Mohammad Atai e , Mohammad Imani a and Hamid Mirzadeh f In the current study a new biodegradable nanocomposite based on poly hexamethylene carbonate fumarate (PHMCF) and nano-sized hydroxyapatite (nano-HA) has been developed. A silane coupling agent g-methacryloxypropyltri- methoxy silane, was used to achieve a good interfacial adhesion between nano-HA and PHMCF matrix. PHMCF with different nano-HA contents were characterized using dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and hardness test. The effect of frequency on storage modulus, glass transition temperature (T g ) and the damping were investigated. In vitro cytotoxicity and proliferation were performed using G292 cell lines by MTT assay. The addition of nano-HA resulted in an increment on the storage modulus and decrement on the damping. Along with improvement in mechanical properties of composites, the addition of nano-HA resulted in enhanced cell proliferation. Following these results, the newly developed nano-PHMCF composite scaffold may be considered for bone tissue engineering applications. Copyright ß 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Keywords: polycarbonate fumarate; nanocomposite; nanohydroxyapatite; dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) INTRODUCTION The synthetic and biodegradable polymer/inorganic bioactive ceramics are attractive as bone tissue engineering scaffolds due to their enhanced mechanical properties, adjustable biodegradation kinetics, design flexibility, functional group availability, and bio- active behavior. An important class of composites for bone tissue engineering is based on the combination of bioactive ceramics and glasses including hydroxyapatite (HA), bioactive silicate glasses, and calcium phosphates with polymers. [1] Many researchers have studied the composites dealing with the incorporation of hydroxyapatite with the synthetic biodegradable polyesters (e.g. polycaprolactone, polylactides, and polyglycolide) and polymers of biological origins such as collagen, alginate, and gelatin to fulfill the necessary requirements for the scaffold materials with combining advantages of polymers and ceramics. [2–15] Since bone is a typical example of nanocomposite which is composed of nanocrystals of hydroxyapatite and nanofibrous structure of collagen, many efforts have been made to incorporate nanosized hydroxyapatite particles (nano-HA) into the polymer microstructure to improve the mechanical and biological properties of scaffolds and mimic the structure of bone. [16–27] In fact, nano-HA promotes osteoblast cells adhesion, differ- entiation, and proliferation better than microcrystalline HA, thus nanocomposites containing nano-HA could play a crucial role in bone tissue engineering scaffolds. [28] With the advancement in tissue engineering, it has become necessary to develop polymers that meet more demanding requirements including ability in the form of scaffold to provide (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pat.1553 Research Article * Correspondence to: S. Sharifi, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/115, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: sh.sharif@gmail.com a S. Sharifi, N. K. Mohtaram, M. Imani Novel Drug Delivery Systems Department, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/115, Tehran, Iran b M. Kamali Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran c M. Shokrgozar National Cell Bank of Iran, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran d S. M. Rabiee Department of Mechanical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran e M. Atai Polymer Science Department, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/115, Tehran, Iran f H. Mirzadeh Biomaterials Department, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/115, Tehran, Iran Polym. Adv. Technol. 2011, 22 605–611 Copyright ß 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 605