Week 6

Structure and Properties of

Ceramic Materials
 1.0 INTRODUCTION
• Ceramics are inorganic/non metallic
materials composed of non-directional
ionic bonds between electron donating
and electron –accepting elements.
• Mechanical properties of ceramics:
– Hard
– Brittle
• Allow for little deformation before failure
– Can withstand high compression stress
• WHY CHOOSE CERAMIC AS BIOMATERIALS?
– Have an appropriate mechanical properties for
particular medical application such as dental
crowns.
– Biocompatible:
• Relative inertness to the body fluid.
• More resistant to degradation.
– Have a similar chemistry and mechanical
properties with natural bone → more often used
as a part of orthopaedic implant (coating material)
or as dental materials (crowns, dentures).
– High wear resistance
 2.0 STRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
Ceramic may contain crystal or non-
crystalline glassess
2.0 ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
2.1 ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
• FACE CENTERED CUBIC
 2.1 ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
• BODY CENTERED CUBIC
2.1 ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
• HEXAGONAL CLOSED PACK (HCP)
 2.2 MICROSTRUCTURE OF CERAMIC
• MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES
 3.0 BIOMEDICAL APPLICATION
• DENTISTRY
– Dental filling, Dental crown, dentures
– Why widely used in dentistry
• Relatively inert to body fluid
• High compressive strength
• Aesthetically pleasing apparent
• ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANT
• Femoral head/ball of hip implant
• Coating of hip stem
• Acetabular inner cup of hip implant
• Bone plates and screw
Acetabular component
• Inner cup (Polymer or ceramic)
• Outer cup (Metal)

Femoral component
• femoral stem (metal)
• neck (metal)
• head/ball (metal or
ceramic)
4.0 DESIRED PROPERTIES OF BIOCERAMICS
In order to be classified as a bioceramic,
the ceramic material must exceed such
properties:
1. Should be nontoxic
2. Should be noncarcinogenic
3. Should be nonallergic
4. Should be non inflammatory
5. Should be biocompatible
6. Should be biofunctional for its lifetime
in host
 5.0 TYPE OF BIOCERAMICS
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS (RESORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
BIOCERAMICS
Notes
Absorbable : Capable of being
absorbed or taken in through the pores
of a surface
 5.0 TYPE OF BIOCERAMICS
• Relative reactivity of bioceramics in
physiological enviroments:
Non-inert bioceramic
Surface reactive bioceramic
 5.0 TYPE OF BIOCERAMICS

Some typical room temperature

properties of bioceramics and corticol
bone
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
• Maintain their physical and mechanical
properties while in host.
• Resist corrosion and wear
• Have all the six (6) desired properties of
implantable bioceramics.
• Have a reasonable fracture toughness.
• Typically used as structural-support implant
such as bone plates, bone screw and femoral
heads.
 5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
5.1.1 ALUMINA (Al203)
• The main source of alumina or aluminium
oxide is bauxite and native corundum.
• Highly stable oxide – very chemically inert
• Low fracture toughness and tensile strength –
high compression strength
• Very low wear resistance
• Quite hard material, varies from 20 to 30 GPa.
Notes: Bauxite and corundum is type of minerals
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS

• Mechanical properties requirement:

– Compressive strength: 4 -5 Gpa
– Flexural strength : > 400MPa
– Elastic modulus: 380 GPa
– Density : 3.8 – 3.9 g/cm3
– Generally quite hard : 20 to 30 GPa
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
ALUMINA
High hardness + low friction + low wear+ inert to in vivo
environment

Ideal material for use in:

• Orthopaedic joint replacement component, e.g.
femoral head of hip implant
• Orthopaedic load-bearing implant
• Implant coating
• Dental implants
 5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
5.1.2 ZIRCONIA (Zr202)
• Pure zirconia can be obtained from chemical
conversion of zircon, which is an abundant
mineral deposit.
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
• Has a high melting
temperature and
chemical stability.
• The bending
strength and
fracture toughness
are 2-3 and 2 times
greater than
alumina.
5.1 RELATIVELY INERT (NON-ABSORBABLE)
BIOCERAMICS
• The improved mechanical properties
plus excellent biocompatibility and
wear properties make this material
the best choice the new generation
of orthopaedic implant.
• Has already widely use to replace
alumina and metals.
 5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS
(RESORBABLE) BIOCERAMICS
• Chemically broken down by the body and
degrade
• The resorbed material is replaced by
endogenous tissue
• Chemicals produced as the ceramic is
resorbed must be able to be processed
through the normal metabolic pathways of the
body without evoking any deleterious effect.
• Synthesize from chemical (synthetic ceramic)
or natural sources (natural ceramic)
 5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS
(RESORBABLE) BIOCERAMICS
Examples of Resorbable Bioceramics
1. Calcium phosphate
2. Calcium sulfate, including plaster of Paris
3. Hydroxyapatite
4. Tricalcium phosphate
5. Ferric-calcium-phosphorous oxides
6. Corals
 5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS
(RESORBABLE) BIOCERAMICS
5.2.1 Synthetic ceramic
5.2.1.1 Calcium phosphate and Hydroxyapatite
• Can be crystallized into salts such as
Hydroxyapatite.
• Hydroxyapatite (HAP) has a similar properties
with mineral phase of bone and teeth.
• Important properties of HAP:
– Excellent biocompatibility
– Form a direct chemical bond with hard tissue
5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS (RESORBABLE)

• Low values of mechanical strength and fracture

toughness, thus cannot be used in load bearing
materials.
5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS (RESORBABLE)
• Application:
– Bone substitute in a granular or a solid block.
– Temporary scaffold which is gradually replaced by
tissue
– Orthopaedic and dental implant coating
– Dental implant materials
• Drawback:
– Complicated fabrication process and difficult to
shape
 5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS
(RESORBABLE)

5.2.1.2 Tricalcium phosphate

• Composition similar to hydroxyapatite
• Degrades faster than calcium phosphate
• More soluble than synthetic HAP
• Allow good bone in growth and eventually is
replaced by endogenous tissue.
 5.2 NON-INERT BIOCERAMICS
(RESORBABLE)
5.2.2 Natural ceramic
5.2.2.1 Biocoral
• Corals transformed into HAP
• Biocompatible
• Facilitate bone growth
• Used to repair traumatized bone, replaced
disease bone and correct various bone defect.
• Bone scaffold
 5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
BIOCERAMICS
• Direct and strong chemical bond with tissue
• Fixation of implants in the skeletal system
• Low mechanical strength and fracture
toughness
• Examples:
– Glass ceramics
– Hydroxyapatite
– Dense nonporous glasses
 5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
5.3.1 Glass ceramics
BIOCERAMICS
• Glass-ceramics are crystalline materials obtained by the
controlled crystallization of an amorphous parent glass.
• Controlled crystallisation requires:
– specific compositions
– usually a two-stage heat-treatment
– Controlled nucleation
• Controlled crystallization will
growth of crystal of small
uniform size
 5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
BIOCERAMICS
• Type of glass ceramic
– Bioglass
– Ceravital
• Both are SiO2, CaO, Na2O and P2O5 systems
• Bioglass composition manipulated to induce
direct bonding with the bone
– Must simultaneously form a calcium phosphate
and SiO2 – rich film layer on surface of ceramic for
this to happen
– With correct composition will bond with bone in
approximately 30 days
 Bioglass structure

Calcium sodium phosphosilicate, commonly referred to by

its commercial name Bioglass NovaMin, is a glass
specifically composed of 45 wt% SiO₂, 24.5 wt% CaO,
24.5 wt% Na₂O, and 5.0 wt% P₂O₅ =45S5
 5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
BIOCERAMICS
• Glass ceramic properties
 5.3 SURFACE REACTIVE (SEMI-INERT)
BIOCERAMICS
• Application of Glass Ceramic
– Orthopaedic and dental implant coating
– Dental implant
– Facial reconstruction components
– Bone graft substitute material
• Main limitation:
– Brittleness
– Cannot be used for making major load bearing
implant such as joint implant
 6.0 BIODEGRADATION OF CERAMIC
Biodegradation: chemical breakdown of a
material mediated by any component of the
physiological environment ( such as water, ions,
cells, proteins, and bacteria).
Bioerosion is breakdown including chemical
degradation or other process in which bond
cleavage is not required (e.g. physical dissolution),
of a material mediated by any component of
physiological environment.
 BIODEGRADATION

ceramic degrade
primarily via dissolution,
this because ceramic formulation
are highly soluble in
aqueous environment

Controlled
Uncontrolled degradation
degradation
6.1 UNCONTROLLED DEGRADATION
• DEPEND ON TWO FACTOR
– Mechanical environment
• Stress induced degradation can occur in
ceramics under tension.
• If crack is formed in these materials, the
tensile stress may lead to further
dissolution at the crack tip and material
fracture.
– Ceramic porosity
Pores are stress raiser thus may increase the
formation of cracks or the rate of their
propagation.
 Uncontrolled
degradation

Mechanical Ceramic porosity

environment -stress raiser

Stress induced
degradation

Wear
-main problem

Produces
biologically
active particles

Lead to
inflammation and
implant loosening
 6.2 CONTROLLED DEGRADATION
• Degradation is desirable.
• Controlled biomaterial degradation can
be used as an important part of tissue
engineering and drug delivery therapies.
• For these application, the temporary
nature of the material is ideal to
promote localized tissue healing or
release of a bioactive agent without the
need for second surgery to remove
implant.
 6.2 CONTROLLED DEGRADATION
• Biodegradable ceramics are usually type of
calcium phosphate, such as
– Hydroxyapatite, HA (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2)
– Tricalcium phosphate, TCP (Ca3(PO4)2)
• Biodegradable ceramic generally degrade by
dissolution (influenced by the solubility of the
ceramic formulation in media and the pH of
the media) coupled with physical
disintegration.
 6.2 CONTROLLED DEGRADATION
6.2.1 FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE
DEGRADATION RATE
1. Chemical susceptibility of the
material
Hydrated form forms such as hydrated
calcium sulphate degrade faster than
their nonhydrated counterparts.
 6.2.1 FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE
DEGRADATION RATE
2. Amount of crystallinity
• Ceramic degradation depend on water
penetration.
• A more tightly packed crystalline material is less
susceptible to dissolution than a ceramic that is
mainly amorphous (unstructured).
• Polycrystalline ceramics degrade more quickly
than single crystal ceramic due to presence of
grain boundaries.
• Ceramic contain many smaller crystals is more
susceptible to dissolution than one with fewer,
larger crystal.
 6.2.1 FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE
DEGRADATION RATE
3. Amount of media (water) available
High amount of water → increase degradation rate
Low amount of water → slower degradation rate
4. Material surface area to volume ratio
• Highly porous ceramic will dissolve more
quickly than the same ceramic with fewer
pores due to increase in area for interaction
with the environment.
 6.2.1 FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE
DEGRADATION RATE

Highly porosity Low porosity

 6.2.1 FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE
DEGRADATION RATE
5. Mechanical environment
Ceramic degradation is encouraged in
areas with high mechanical stress, either
due to
– Implant site location
– Presence of stress raiser in the device
– Production of wear particles will caused
inflammatory response → pH drop →
accelerate degradation of material
Extra: Bone scaffold

Perfection regained: the perfect fit of the

Sandia ceramic scaffolding in the model jaw
also recreates the upper line of the original
jawbone. The scaffold layering, which cross
each other like a child's Lincoln Logs,
are approximately 500 microns apart to
expedite passage of new bone and blood
vessels.
The milled implant from a wax-embedded
scaffold of hydroxyapatite.

Once the device is milled, the wax is melted out, and the implant is finished.
The porous structure of the scaffold allows bone to grow into it,
providing the future basis for the growth of new bone in a patient.
 The underside of the final
implant scaffold,
showing the modeled canal The final implant scaffold fit
for the nerve path. tested in the patients jaw.
 TO BE READ
• 1.2.4.Creamics ,Glasses and Glass
ceramics:Basic principles pg.128-145