Adolfo Fernández

Osteoblastic cell response to spark plasma-sintered zirconia/titanium cermets

Ceramic/metal composites, cermets, arise from the idea to combine the dissimilar properties in the pure materials. This work aims to study the biocompatibility of new micro-nanostructured 3u2009Y-TZP/Ti materials with 25, 50 and 75u2009vol.% Ti, which have been successfully obtained by spark slasma sintering technology, as well as to correlate their surface properties (roughness, wettability and chemical composition) with the osteoblastic cell response. All samples had isotropic and slightly waved microstructure, with sub-micrometric average roughness. Composites with 75u2009vol.% Ti had the highest surface hydrophilicity. Surface chemical composition of the cermets correlated well with the relative amounts used for their fabrication. A cell viability rate over 80% dismissed any cytotoxicity risk due to manufacturing. Cell adhesion and early differentiation were significantly enhanced on materials containing the nanostructured 3u2009Y-TZP phase. Proliferation and differentiation of SaOS-2 were significantly improved in their late-stage on the composite with 75u2009vol.% Ti that, from the osseointegration standpoint, is presented as an excellent biomaterial for bone replacement. Thus, spark plasma sintering is consolidated as a suitable technology for manufacturing nanostructured biomaterials with enhanced bioactivity.

Biocompatibility assessment of spark plasma-sintered alumina-titanium cermets

Alumina-titanium materials (cermets) of enhanced mechanical properties have been lately developed. In this work, physical properties such as electrical conductivity and the crystalline phases in the bulk material are evaluated. As these new cermets manufactured by spark plasma sintering may have potential application for hard tissue replacements, their biocompatibility needs to be evaluated. Thus, this research aims to study the cytocompatibility of a novel alumina-titanium (25u2009vol. % Ti) cermet compared to its pure counterpart, the spark plasma sintered alumina. The influence of the particular surface properties (chemical composition, roughness and wettability) on the pre-osteoblastic cell response is also analyzed. The material electrical resistance revealed that this cermet may be machined to any shape by electroerosion. The investigated specimens had a slightly undulated topography, with a roughness pattern that had similar morphology in all orientations (isotropic roughness) and a sub-micrometric average roughness. Differences in skewness that implied valley-like structures in the cermet and predominance of peaks in alumina were found. The cermet presented a higher surface hydrophilicity than alumina. Any cytotoxicity risk associated with the new materials or with the innovative manufacturing methodology was rejected. Proliferation and early-differentiation stages of osteoblasts were statistically improved on the composite. Thus, our results suggest that this new multifunctional cermet could improve current alumina-based biomedical devices for applications such as hip joint replacements.

Mechanical Behavior of Alumina Toughened Zirconia Nanocomposites with Different Alumina Additions

ZrO2 and Al2O3 are monolithic ceramics used today in a wide variety of structural components. However, both materials present important drawbacks for some specific applications. In the case of Al2O3, its moderate strength (500 MPa) and toughness (4 MPa.√m) makes it unsuitable for high loading conditions. On the other hand, ZrO2 presents higher strength and toughness values (900 MPa and 6 MPa.√m) than Al2O3 but it is a material limited in its long-term behaviour due to its bad response to hydrothermal ageing and a pronounced tendency for subcritical crack growth. Due to this fact, ceramic nanocomposites made of Al2O3 and ZrO2 (ATZ and ZTA) have been developed in the last years in order to overcome the main drawbacks of the monolithic materials as they can combine the properties of both, strong and tough materials, simultaneously, with null ageing and even higher biocompatibility. In this work, several amounts of Al2O3 disperse phase (15, 35 and 50 vol %) were added to one ZrO2 matrix (CeO2 - 10 mol %) in order to see their effect on the mechanical properties, subcritical crack propagation and long-term reliability.