Surface coatings of bioactive glazes on hight strength ceramic composites

Dense Alumina and Zirconia ceramics have optimal physical-mechanical features for load bearing prosthetic applications. However, an improvement at the ceramic/bone interface, namely of the bioactivity of the ceramic, is still required. The aim of this study is to develop a new generation of glass as bioactive coating of dense Al2O3-ZrO2 composites. Composition of the glass and processing conditions were optimized. On the coated samples, the chemistry, the mechanical performances, the microstructure and the adhesion at the ceramic/coating interface were analyzed. Besides, the in-vitro bioactive responses, by incubation of osteoblast-like cells on the coated samples, were evaluated after 24 hours and after 72 hours.