The investigation has been carried out for interaction of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, specifically nanospheres and nanorods, into biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) for biomedical applications. Structural characterization using the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the successful integration of ZnO nanoparticles into the PLA matrix. Mechanical results showed that PLA/ZnO nanosphere composites exhibit superior tensile properties (25.20 MPa) compared to PLA/ZnO nanorods (22.98 MPa). Degradation results showed that ZnO incorporation, irrespective of morphology, accelerated the degradation rate of PLA (2.972%, 13.480%, 9.965% for PLA, PLA/ZnO nanosphere, and PLA/ZnO nanorods, respectively). Cytotoxicity assessments showed no toxic behavior in either composite, confirming that adding ZnO does not compromise cell viability. These findings suggest that PLA/ZnO composites exhibit significant potential for biomedical applications, offering enhanced mechanical performance, controlled degradation, and biocompatibility.
Hussain et al. (2026) studied this question.