Synthesis, characterization, bioactivity and cytotoxicity assessment of nano ZrO2 reinforced bioactive glass ceramics

Abstract

Bioactive glass and glass ceramics have travelled a long way as biomaterials. Several research works have been devoted to improving mechanical properties, especially using various additives. Out of these, ZrO2-containing glass and glass ceramics have shown promising outcomes. In this present work, a set of 3 Nano-ZrO2 containing novel bioactive glass and glass ceramics of composition 37.5 nano-SiO2–(17-X)Al2O3–26.5CaO–11.5CaF2–7.5P2O5–X nano-ZrO2 (where, X= 0.75, 1.7, 2.7, all in mol %) were synthesized by melt-quenching technique. Standard characterization procedures were performed to assess the physical and chemical properties, structure and surface morphologies. In vitro bioactivity and cytotoxicity assessments were also done. Fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F) and Anorthite (Ca(Al2Si2O8)) along with tetragonal Zirconia (t-ZrO2) at higher nano-ZrO2 content of 2.7 mol% were discovered as the primary crystalline phases. Adding nano-zirconia enhanced the glasses' thermal stability and the glass ceramics' micro-hardness. The formation of nanometer-size hydroxyapatite (HAp) on the glass-ceramics samples confirmed the good bioactive nature. The non-toxic nature of the samples towards living cells was demonstrated by cytotoxicity assessment.