Zirconia Biocompatibility in Animal Studies - A Systematic Review

Abstract

Zirconia is a metal used in dental implantology. Its biocompatibility was studied in vitro and in vivo, results of the studies being analyzed in reviews and meta analyses. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate biocompatibility of zirconia in animal studies in vivo expressed as results of histomorphometric tests. Databases were searched from 1980 until February 2016, with different combination of the following MeSH terms: zirconium, biocompatibility, dental implants, in vivo, animal studies. Letters to the editors, case reports, commentaries, review articles and articles published in other languages then English were excluded. The search of PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases yielded 690 titles. After abstract screening and duplicate discarding 50 articles were identified and finally, 40 were included in the review. Most of the studies compared zirconia with titanium, a well established material for dental implants. In majority of the studies zirconia showed a similar osseointegration with titanium. Surface implant treatments, like sandblasted and etched zirconia (ZrO2-SLA), alumina toughed zirconia (ATZ), and powder injection molding (PIM) were used to improve osseointegration of zirconia with good results. In the light of histomorphometric test, zirconia, no matter physical and structural forms tested, is a biocompatible material.

Nanocrystalline Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Ceramics for Cranial Window Applications

“…16 Driven by the potentials of YSZ ceramics for biomedical applications, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed and good biocompatibility of YSZ ceramics has been confirmed. 17 For example, Shih-Fu Ou et al reported that the L929 cells cultured with the YSZ ceramics showed similar cell densities to the cells-only control group after 8, 24, 72, 120, 168, and 216 h of direct culture, respectively. 18 In another example, titanium and zirconia implants were placed into the femurs of 42 male Sprague− Dawley rats, and bone tissue specimens containing the implants were processed and histologically analyzed after 14 and 28 days.…”

“…As nondegradable structural materials, YSZ ceramics have been widely studied and reported for various biomedical applications, such as hip replacement prosthesis and dental implant abutments . Driven by the potentials of YSZ ceramics for biomedical applications, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed and good biocompatibility of YSZ ceramics has been confirmed . For example, Shih-Fu Ou et al reported that the L929 cells cultured with the YSZ ceramics showed similar cell densities to the cells-only control group after 8, 24, 72, 120, 168, and 216 h of direct culture, respectively .…”

Highly active Pd–ZrO2 electrodes for hydrogen evolution reaction

“…In the present contribution, we analyse the performances of Pd@ZrO 2 /FTO electrodes for comparing the ceria catalyst 5,13 with the less expensive and more environmentally friendly zirconia 25 and to underline the possibility of using ion beam sputtering deposition to prepare CCM and/or MEA for fuel cell devices.…”

“…Based on the encouraging results obtained for ceria, we have chosen to use another ceramic material, zirconia, widely used also in dentistry surgery for its mechanical and biocompatibility properties. 25,26 Moreover, ZrO 2 has also been widely used for a huge amount of hydrogenation reactions due to its hydrogen spillover effect.…”

Electro-Discharge Machining of Zr67Cu11Ni10Ti9Be3: An Investigation on Hydroxyapatite Deposition and Surface Roughness

“…This produces oxides and carbide coating on the Zr 67 Cu 11 Ni 10 Ti 9 Be 3 BMG surface. Oxides are believed biocompatible and apatite inducers which promote biocompatibility of the synthetic tissues[20]. A thin recast layer of about 5.6-µm thick was also observed.…”