INFLUENCE OF Al2O3-ZrO2 AGEING ON ZrO2 PHASE TRANSFORMATION AND OSTEOBLAST CELL RESPONSE

GARRIDO, L. B; PAULO TAMBASCO DE OLIVEIRA; ALBANO, M. P.; ADALBERTO LUIZ ROSA; CALAMBÁS PULGARIN, H. L; EMANUELA PRADO FERRAZ

Congreso; 9º Congreso Latino-Americano de Organos Artificiales y Biomateriales; 2016

Two commercial 3 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia, with 0.3 wt% Al2O3 (YZA) and without Al2O3 (YZ), were used to produce alumina-zirconia slip cast composites. The influence of the ZrO2 content and the ZrO2 grain size on the ageing behaviour of the different Al2O3-ZrO2 composites were investigated. In addition, the biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation of Al2O3-ZrO2 surfaces were evaluated before and after ageing using osteoblast cell culture. The ageing susceptibility of the composites significantly increased with increasing the ZrO2 content over 22 vol%. For 50 vol% ZrO2, the greater grain size of YZ composites with respect to those YZA enhanced the ageing degradation. The mineralization of cells grown on 50 vol% YZ was significantly higher than that on 50 vol% YZA. The ageing process on 50 vol% YZA stimulated early cell proliferation and promoted differentiation, whereas the production of mineralized matrix markedly reduced on the aged 50 vol% YZ.