Mechanical Properties, Phase Stability, and Biocompatibility of

(Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 Composite Abutments for Dental Implant

Dae-Joon Kim,1 Myung-Hyun Lee,1 Deuk Yong Lee, 2
Jung-Suk Han3
1
Ceramics Division, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791, Korea

2
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Daelim College of Technology, Anyang 431-715, Korea

3
Department of Prosthodontics and Dentistry, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 158-710, Korea

Received 30 August 1999; revised 3 January 2000; accepted 11 January 2000

Abstract: ZrO2/Al2O3 composites were prepared by mixing a tetragonal ZrO2, stabilized by

5.31 mol% Y2O3 and 4.45 mol% Nb2O5, and various amounts of Al2O3. Influence of the
amount of Al2O3 on strength and toughness and tetragonal phase stability in the composites
under autoclave conditions was investigated. In addition, in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility
of the composites was examined. The composite, prepared with addition of 20 vol% Al2O3,
exhibited the highest strength of 700 MPa and toughness of 8.1 MPa 䡠 m1/2 and showed no
hydrothermal degradation while aging in an autoclave. The biocompatibility of the composite
exhibited no cytotoxicity and no significant adverse soft-tissue response for up to 3 months
implant period in guinea pigs. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 53:
438 – 443, 2000

Keywords: dental abutment; dental implant; zirconia/alumina composite; mechanical prop-

erties; biocompatibility

INTRODUCTION sintered aluminum oxide abutments were fabricated by using hot

Since the osseointegration phenomenon was introduced more
than 30 years ago, implant treatment has become one of the most
important dental treatment modalities today.1,2 To fabricate final
prostheses on osseointegrated implant fixtures, titanium and gold
alloys have been used as abutment materials. The abutment
materials should have the following characteristics to fulfill
intraoral applications. They must (1) be biocompatible and not
promote plaque adherence, (2) provide sufficient strength to
endure and transmit occlusal forces to the implant and support-
ing bone, and (3) replicate the optical properties of a natural
tooth, that is, aesthetics. However, conventional titanium abut-
ments sometimes fail to meet the aesthetic requirement, espe-
cially implants that are located in the maxillary anterior area. If
the amount and thickness of soft tissue is not enough to cover the
grayish color of the metal abutment, the metal color deteriorates
the total aesthetics, even though a natural-looking porcelain
restoration is placed over the abutment.
Due to the high aesthetic requirement of anterior-placed
implants, the tooth-colored all ceramic abutment was introduced
for single-tooth replacement and for multiple units.3-5 Densely
Correspondence to: Dr. J.-S. Han, Department of Prosthodontics and Dentistry,
Ewha Womans University, Seoul 158-710, Korea (e-mail: proshan@unitel.co.kr)
Partial results were presented at the International Symposium on Advanced Mate-
rials with Biomedical Applications, Gaithersburg, MD, June 7– 8, 1999.
© 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
438
isostatic pressing (HIP) and have been successfully used in the
clinic.6 Failures can occur, however, during shaping, assembly,
and function due to the intrinsic low fracture toughness of the
material. Introducing tetragonal zirconia as the abutment mate-
rial can alleviate these problems because of its high strength and
fracture resistance. Zirconia has been proven as a ceramic bio-
material for orthopedic prostheses due to its excellent biocom-
patibility and mechanical properties, including strength, tough-
ness, and wear behavior.7,8
The thermodynamically stable form of zirconia (ZrO2) at
ambient temperature is the monoclinic (m) phase. For ZrO2 to
be used as a technical ceramic, one of the high-temperature
phases, that is, tetragonal (t) or cubic (c) ZrO2, should be
stabilized at room temperature by the formation of a solid
solution, to prevent deleterious tetragonal-to-monoclinic
phase transformation during cooling after sintering. It is well
known that magnesia (MgO), yttria (Y2O3), and ceria (CeO2)
are the most commonly used alloying oxides for this purpose,
leading to suppression of the t3m phase transformation
temperature from about 1150°C to below room temperature.
Among them, 3 mol% Y2O3-stabilized tetragonal zirconia
polycrystals (3Y-TZP) exhibit high strength and toughness
and tetragonal phase stability at room temperature.7 Thus,
this material has been considered as a potential bioceramic
for use in load-bearing applications. Despite excellent me-
chanical properties, however, one of the drawbacks of 3Y-
TZP is tetragonal phase instability due to the t3m phase
 COMPOSITE ABUTMENTS FOR DENTAL IMPLANT
transformation when exposed to a low-temperature range of
100 – 400°C for a long period of time in air or water.8,9 The
phase transformation is accompanied by an abrupt decrease in
strength, so that the phenomenon is called low-temperature
degradation. Aging in water vapor conditions accelerates the
degradation. Since tetragonal zirconia abutments must be
autoclave-sterilized for 20 –30 min at 120 –135°C prior to
clinical applications, the ceramic abutments should be im-
mune from degradation while sterilizing. The purpose of this
study is to evaluate the mechanical properties, the tetragonal
phase stability in autoclave conditions, and biocompatibility
of a newly developed (Y,Nb)-ZrO2/Al2O3 composite.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample Preparation
The (Y,Nb)-TZP powders were prepared by mixing 90.24
mol% ZrO2, 5.31 mol% Y2O3, and 4.45 mol% Nb2O5 using
ball milling of 24 h. After drying, the mixed powders were
calcined for 4 h at 1100°C and then attrition-milled for 3 h.
Zirconia balls were used for the milling processes. (Y,Nb)-
TZP/Al2O3 composite powders were prepared by adding var-
ious amounts of Al2O3 to the (Y,Nb)-TZP powder and ball
milling for 24 h. The milled slurries were dried, sieved
through a 100-mesh screen, die-pressed into disks and tubes,
and then isostatically pressed at 140 MPa. The green com-
pacts were sintered for 2 h at 1550°C in air.
Property Measurements
For mechanical property measurements, disk and bar speci-
mens were employed. The disks and bars were prepared by
sintering of disk- and tubular-shaped composite powder com-
pactions, respectively. The dimension of the disk specimens
after polishing to a 1 ␮m diamond finish was 18 mm in
diameter and 1.8 mm in thickness. A flat-on-three-ball bi-
axial-fixture was used for the determination of strength of the
disk specimens with a stress rate of 23 MPa 䡠 s⫺1 that was
determined from a correlation between the rate and specimen
thickness in the ASTM standard.10 The bar specimens were
prepared by cutting the sintered tubular-shaped composite
specimens and the CerAdapt威 abutments radially and then
polishing to a 1 ␮m diamond finish. The dimensions of the
specimens were 1.0 ⫻ 0.7 ⫻ 9.0 mm after polishing. A
3-point fixture was used for the determination of strength,
where the span distance was 7 mm and the cross-head speed
was 0.07 mm/min. Prior to the measurements, both disks and
bar specimens were annealed for 2 h at 1200°C to remove a
residual stress from the machining procedure. A minimum of
ten tests was performed for each type of specimen.
The fracture toughness of the disk specimens was deter-
mined by the indentation-strength method.11 A Vickers in-
dentation load of 98 N was placed on the center of the tensile
face of the test specimens. A minimum of five tests was
performed for each composite specimen composition. For the
calculation of toughness, the hardness-to-modulus ratio was
439
estimated from the measurement of the diagonal dimensions
of 98 N Knoop indentations after Marshall et al.12 The
toughness of the bar specimens was estimated by the inden-
tation method suggested by Anstis et. al.13
Hydrothermal stability of the composite specimens was
evaluated after aging for 5 h at the temperature range of
150 –250°C in 4 MPa water vapor pressure in an autoclave.
The extent of hydrothermal degradation was estimated from
the X-ray diffraction peak intensity ratio of the m-ZrO2 and
t-ZrO2 phases on the aged specimen, according to Garvie and
Nicholson.14
Biocompatibility Tests
The biocompatibility of the (Y,Nb)-ZrO2/Al2O3 composite
was evaluated by means of an in vitro cytotoxicity test and an
in vivo subcutaneous implant test.15,16 For the in vitro test, the
cell growth and survival test and agar overlay test were
employed. The cell growth and survival test was performed
by evaluating cell growth on ten (Y,Nb)-ZrO2/Al2O3 com-
posite disc specimens, 13 mm diameter ⫻ 1 mm thickness,
after 2, 4, and 6 days of mouse fibroblast (L929, ACTT) cell
culture. Copper was used as a positive control material, and
no specimen was used as a negative control in culture vessels
(Nunc, Denmark). After 2, 4, and 6 days of culture, cell layers
in the dishes were trypsinized, and stained with trypan blue,
and cell counts were performed.
For the agar overlay test, same-sized specimens were
utilized to evaluate cell viability in culture vessels (Nunc,
Denmark). After cell culture, 1.5% Bacto-agar (Difco, USA)
and BME solution were used for agar formation. Copper was
used for the positive control material, and commercially pure
titanium was used for the negative control. Cells were stained
by neutral red solution, and specimens were placed onto the
agar layer and cultured for 24 h. The zone of discoloration
and cell lysis index were evaluated according to FDI stan-
dards.15
For the subcutaneous implant test, twelve 300 – 400 g
body-weighted guinea pigs and twelve (Y,Nb)-ZrO2/Al2O3
composite and twelve 3Y-TZP specimens, 10 ⫻ 7 ⫻ 1 mm,
were used, respectively. Two specimens were embedded sub-
cutaneously in the lumber area in each animal. The animals
were sacrificed after 2 and 12 weeks. After carefully remov-
ing specimens with surrounding tissue as thin as possible,
they were pre-fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde immediately, and
the specimens were removed from the surrounding capsules.
The capsules were fixed with 1% osmium tetroxide and
dehydrated in ethyl alcohol and embedded in Epon 812 for
light- and electron-microscopic observations (JEOL 1200
EX, Japan). 1 ␮m sections were made and then stained with
toluidine blue and 80 –100 nm sections made and then stained
with uranyl acetate and lead citrate for the light- and electron-
microscopic observation, respectively.
RESULTS
Flexural strength and fracture toughness of the disk-shaped
(Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composites containing 0 –30 vol% of the
440 KIM ET AL.
Figure 1. Strength and fracture toughness of (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 com-
posites as a function of Al2O3 content.
Al2O3 particles are shown in Figure 1. Both the flexural
strength and the fracture toughness rise as the Al2O3 content
increases up to 20 vol% and then drop slightly, showing that
the optimum amount of Al2O3 corresponds to approximately
20 vol%. The relative density of (Y,Nb)-TZP/20 vol% Al2O3
composites was 5.53 g/cm3, corresponding to 98.5% of the
theoretical density.
Microstructure of the composite is shown in Figure 2. The
dark areas are the Al2O3 particles and the light ones are ZrO2
matrix. The grain size of t-ZrO2 in the composite is smaller
than that in the monolithic (Y,Nb)-TZP, whose grain size is
1.7 ␮m after sintering under the identical conditions,17 since
Al2O3 particles behave as a grain growth inhibitor. The
micrographs also show interaction between the microstruc-
ture and the crack path made from the extended radial cracks
of the 196 N Vickers indentation on the surface. The com-
Figure 2. SEM micrograph of typical crack paths induced by 196 N
Vickers indentation in (Y,Nb)-TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite. Dark
phase is the Al2O3, indicated by A, and the light phase is ZrO2.
TABLE I. Comparison of Strength and Toughness of (Y,Nb)-
TZP/A12O3 Composite and CerAdapt® Alumina Abutments
Composite CerAdapt威
Strength, MPa 710 619
Toughness, MPa 䡠 m1/2 8.5 3.1
posite exhibits extensive crack/grain bridging showing in-
complete separation of crack faces.
The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the (Y,Nb)-
TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite were compared with those of
alumina CerAdapt威 in Table I. Both the strength and tough-
ness of the composite are higher than those of the alumina-
based abutment, indicating that the composite abutments are
more fracture-tolerant than the alumina ones.
Neither the monolithic (Y,Nb)-TZP nor the (Y,Nb)-
TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite exhibited t3m phase trans-
formation during aging for 5 h at 200°C and 4 MPa water-
vapor pressure in an autoclave. This is shown in Figure 3(a),
where no X-ray diffraction peaks related to the m-ZrO2 are
observed. On the other hand, 3Y-TZP and 3Y-TZP/20 vol%
Al2O3 composites, prepared using the identical sintering pro-
cedure for the (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composites, showed a
nearly complete t3m phase transformation while aging in the
autoclave condition in Figure 3(b).
The cell growth and survival test showed a favorable
response of L929 fibroblast cells on (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 spec-
imens, such as increased cell number according to culture
time and maintenance of normal cell morphology (Fig. 4).
Figure 3. XRD patterns of (a) (Y,Nb)-TZP and (Y,Nb)-TZP/20 vol%
Al2O3 composite and (b) 3Y-TZP and 3Y-TZP/20 vol% of Al2O3 com-
posite after aging for 5 h at 200°C and 4 MPa water vapor pressure in
an autoclave. t and m stand for t-ZrO2 and m-ZrO2, respectively.
 COMPOSITE ABUTMENTS FOR DENTAL IMPLANT 441

Figure 4. Cell growth and survival test. Fibroblasts cultured in

(Y,Nb)-TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite: (a) 4 days (⫻ 100) and (b) 6
days (⫻ 100). Note the increased cell number and normal morphol-
ogy.

From the agar overlay test, the ceramic composite and pure
titanium exhibited neither discoloration nor lysis of L929
fibroblast cells. However, the positive control, copper,
showed severe cytotoxicity (Fig. 5). In vivo subcutaneous
implant tests of the composite specimens in guinea pigs
showed thick and relatively loose capsules with few inflam-
matory cell infiltration after 2 weeks, and well-defined thin
and dense fibrous capsules with elongated fibroblasts after 12
weeks under the light microscope (Fig. 6). Electron micro-
scopic observation revealed some inflammatory cells, mac-
rophage, and PMNS with slightly elongated fibroblasts after Figure 5. Agar overlay test: (a) (Y,Nb)-TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite
showed no cell lysis (⫻ 100); (b) pure titanium showed no cell lysis (⫻
2 weeks, and well elongated fibroblast with dense collagen 100); and (c) copper showed severe cell lysis (⫻ 100).
fibrils after 12 weeks (Fig. 7).

rise is attributed to the toughening mechanisms of phase

DISCUSSION transformation and crack bridging with the addition of Al2O3.
The reduction in the strength of the composites having Al2O3
The influence of Al2O3 additions to mechanical properties in content higher than 20 vol% is likely caused by a decrease in
Figure 1 is consistent with previous reports.18-20 The gradual volume fraction of transformable t-ZrO2 phase and an in-
442 KIM ET AL.
Figure 6. Subcutaneous implant test. Fibrous capsule of (Y,Nb)-
TZP/20 vol% Al2O3 composite: (a) 2 weeks (⫻ 400) and (b) 12 weeks
(⫻ 400). Note the well-developed fibrous capsule with few inflamma-
tory cells. Capsule thickness decreases with increasing healing time.
crease in defect population and size due to difficulty in
sintering of the composites to a full density. In Figure 1, the
strength (␴f) of the composite is directly proportional to the
toughness (KIC) as predicted by linear elastic fracture me-
chanics:
␴ f ⫽ K IC/Y√C, (1)
where Y is 2/␲1/2 for the case of a half-penny shaped crack of
radius C that is alternatively the flaw size initiating fracture.
That is, the toughening by the phase transformation and the
grain-bridging increased the strength of the composites hav-
ing a constant flaw size. Using the data in Table I and Eq. (1),
the flaw sizes initiating fracture of the abutments, prepared
from the composite and the alumina, are estimated to be 114
␮m and 20 ␮m, respectively. These critical flaw sizes indi-
cate that the composite abutment is about six times more
durable against machining flaws, which are expected to occur
during the preparation of the restorations using a high-speed
Figure 7. TEM subcutaneous implant test showing (Y,Nb)-TZP/20
vol% Al2O3 composite capsule after 12 weeks. Note the elongated
fibroblasts and well formed collagen fibrils (⫻ 8000).
handpiece, than the alumina abutments. The typical flaw size
of high-strength ceramics ranges from 20 –50 ␮m,21 indicat-
ing that the machining flaw size is larger than 20 ␮m. In this
case, the strength of the alumina abutments in service should
be lower than 619 MPa for the toughness of 3.1 MPa 䡠 m1/2
because of an increased C in Eq. (1). On the other hand, the
composite abutments maintain the strength of 710 MPa as
long as machining flaw size remains below the critical size of
114 ␮m, which is far greater than the typical flaw size, while
in use. This difference in the reliability comes from the
fracture toughness of the materials listed in Table I.
The lack of hydrothermal degradation in (Y,Nb)-TZP un-
der the low temperature aging condition is attributed primar-
ily to the t-ZrO2 phase stability as a result of the Y-Nb
ordering in the t-ZrO2 lattice22 and the reduction in the
oxygen vacancy concentration in Y-TZP because of the sub-
stitution of Nb5⫹ for Zr4⫹.23-25 Influence of the Al2O3 parti-
cles on the degradation of 3Y-TZP is demonstrated in Figure
3(b). The addition of rigid Al2O3 particles impedes the re-
laxation of the strained t-ZrO2 lattice during the aging pro-
cess, so that the extent of the degradation in 3Y-TZP de-
creases with the addition of the Al2O3 particles. The relax-
ation is responsible for the degradation24-27 and is governed
by the oxygen vacancy diffusion when annealed at low tem-
peratures.24,25 At 250°C and 4 MPa water vapor pressure,
3Y-TZP and 3Y-TZP/Al2O3 composites were shattered into
parts due to the nearly complete phase transformation to
m-ZrO2 regardless of the Al2O3 content. The degradation
resulted from the fact that Al2O3 particles are not effective in
suppressing the relaxation of the 3Y-TZP lattice in this severe
environment. Conversely, the (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composites
experienced no degradation while aging in identical condi-
tions because of the intrinsic phase stability of the (Y,Nb)-
TZP.
Implant abutments mainly contact with connective tissue
and epithelium. Several methods are recommended to eval-
uate the biocompatibility of new materials.15,16 Among them,
the cell growth and survival test and the agar overlay test
were chosen to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity of the material.
 COMPOSITE ABUTMENTS FOR DENTAL IMPLANT
The in vivo subcutaneous implant test in guinea pigs was also
performed to evaluate soft-tissue reaction. The basic screening
biocompatibility tests indicated that the composite material has
no cytotoxicity and presents a favorable soft-tissue response for
dental applications during this short-term test period. In clinical
applications, the composite abutments were placed to the sites of
two maxillary premolars and one maxillary first molar. Neither
a failure of abutments nor an adverse soft-tissue reaction has
been observed for the period of 14 months since the abutments
were connected to the implants.
CONCLUSION
The (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composite showed higher strength
and toughness and, thus, a better flaw tolerance compared to
alumina-based abutments. The difference is attributed to the
t3m phase transformation of TZP and the grain bridging
whose extent was optimized with the addition of 20 vol%
Al2O3. Low-temperature degradation was not observed in
(Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composites after aging at the temperature
range of 150 –250°C and 4 MPa water-vapor pressure in the
autoclave. The hydrothermal stability of the composites was
achieved by the inherent phase stability of (Y,Nb)-TZP due to
the local Y-Nb ordering in the t-ZrO2 lattice and the annihi-
lation of oxygen vacancies in Y-TZP. The in vitro and in vivo
biocompatibility tests revealed neither a cytotoxicity nor a
significant adverse soft-tissue reaction with the composites.
The (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 composites with improved mechan-
ical properties, phase stability, and favorable biocompatibility
are applicable for dental implant abutment material, even
though further research is needed to evaluate long-term bio-
logical and mechanical behavior of (Y,Nb)-TZP/Al2O3 com-
posites for clinical use.
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