The role of different dry-mixing techniques on the mechanical and biological behavior of UHMWPE/alumina-zirconia composites for biomedical applications

The structural, morphological, mechanical characterization and cells interaction of ATZ (Alumina Toughened Zirconia)-UHMWPE composites containing 2.5 wt% of ceramic filler obtained with different dry-mixing techniques are discussed, in order to assess their feasibility as biomedical supportive function materials. The results indicate that, by changing the dry-mixing techniques used for preparing composites, it is possible to tune the structural and morphological characteristics of the composites that, in turn, affect the mechanical parameters. All the composites show good cell interaction and promote higher cell viability at 24 h than the unfilled polymer. The biological behavior is not directly correlated with wettability and microroughness, but it seems dependent on the presence of ATZ filler.