Dielectric and electric properties of new chitosan-hydroxyapatite materials for biomedical application: Dielectric spectroscopy and corona treatment

• Chitosan-hydroxyapatite do not have intrinsic electret properties.
• It is not possible to charge them with corona treatment.
• The ε values of chitosan-hydroxyapatite composites are similar those of bone tissues.

Chitosan-hydroxyapatite composite materials were synthesized and the possibility to make their surface charged by corona discharge treatment has been evaluated. Dielectric and electric properties of the materials were studied by dielectric spectroscopy, including application of equivalent circuits method and computer simulations. Dielectric spectroscopy shows behavior of the materials quite different from that of both chitosan and HA alone. The obtained dielectric permittivity data are of particular interest in predicting the materials' behavior in electrostimulation after implantation. The ε values observed at physiological temperature in the frequency ranges applied are similar to ε data available for bone tissues.