Porous and Bioactive Alumina Ceramics for Bone Grafts and Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Bone response to porous alumina implants coated with bioactive materials, observed using different characterization techniques

Background

Implants or implantable devices should integrate into the host tissue faster than fibrous capsule formation, in which the design of the interface is one of the biggest challenges. Generally, bioactive materials are not viable for load-bearing applications, so inert biomaterials are proposed. However, the surface must be modified through techniques such as coating with bioactive materials, roughness and sized pores. The aim of this research was to validate an approach for the evaluation of the tissue growth on implants of porous alumina coated with bioactive materials.

Methods

Porous alumina implants were coated with 45S5 Bioglass® (BG) and hydroxyapatite (HA) and implanted in rat tibiae for a period of 28 days. Ex vivo resections were performed to analyze osseointegration, along with histological analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) line scanning, radiography and biomechanical testing.

Results

Given that the process of implant integration needs with the bone tissue to be accelerated, it was then seen that BG acted to start the rapid integration, and HA acted to sustaining the process.

Conclusions

Inert materials coated with bioglass and HA present a potential for application as bone substitutes, preferably with pores of diameters between 100 μm and 400 μm and, restrict for smaller than 100 μm, because it prevents pores without organized tissue formation or vacant. Designed as functional gradient material, stand out for applications in bone tissue under load, where, being the porous surface responsible for the osseointegration and the inner material to bear and to transmit the loads.

The biocompatibility and anti-biofouling properties of magnetic core-multishell Fe@C NWs-AAO nanocomposites

Soft-magnetic core-multishell Fe@C NWs-AAO nanocomposites were synthesized using anodization, electrodeposition and low-pressure chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at 900 °C. High chemical and mechanical stability is achieved by the conversion from amorphous to θ- and δ-Al2O3 phases above 600 °C. Moreover, the surface properties of the material evolve from bioactive, for porous AAO, to bioinert, for Fe@C NW filled AAO nanocomposite. Although the latter is not cytotoxic, cells do not adhere onto the surface of the magnetic nanocomposite, thus proving its anti-biofouling character.

Zirconia toughened alumina ceramic foams for potential bone graft applications: fabrication, bioactivation, and cellular responses

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) has been regarded as the next generation orthopedic graft material due to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Porous ZTA ceramics with good interconnectivity can potentially be used as bone grafts for load-bearing applications. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) interconnected porous ZTA ceramics were fabricated using a direct foaming method with egg white protein as binder and foaming agent. The results showed that the porous ZTA ceramics possessed a bimodal pore size distribution. Their mechanical properties were comparable to those of cancellous bone. Due to the bio-inertness of alumina and zirconia ceramics, surface bioactivation of the ZTA foams was carried out in order to improve their bioactivity. A simple NaOH soaking method was employed to change the surface chemistry of ZTA through hydroxylation. Treated samples were tested by conducting osteoblast-like cell culture in vitro. Improvement on cells response was observed and the strength of porous ZTA has not been deteriorated after the NaOH treatment. The porous 'bioactivated' ZTA ceramics produced here could be potentially used as non-degradable bone grafts for load-bearing applications.