Fabrication of Hybrid Material by Coating of Bioactive Glass-Ceramic on Alumina Substrate through Porcelain Enamel Process

摘要

In artificial bones, a steady bioactivity over long-term service, no dissolution of harmful ions and a sufficient mechanical strength are required, though the relative importance of the above factors depends upon the implantation place. In general, bioactive materials have no sufficient mechanical strength and, on the other hand, materials with high mechanical strength are not bioactive. In the present study, a porcelain enamel technique was applied to produce a hybrid material whose both bioactivity and high mechanical strength, which merely consists of inorganic materials. High-strength alumina and bioactive glass-ceramics were used as substrate and coating material, respectively, and an adhesion-glass was employed to achieve a tight bond between alumina and the bioactive glass-ceramic. Appropriate heat-treatments of the alumina, adhesion-glass and bioactive glass-ceramic composite resulted in the successful production of a hybrid material that has about 2.5 times stronger in bending-strength than that of an apatite precipitation-type glass-ceramic. This technique gives a useful process on production of ceramic-ceramic hybrid materials with high mechanical strength and bioactivity for bone substitution.