Elaboration of self-coating alumina-based porous ceramics

Materials used for bone substitution (i.e. hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate) are highly successful, since when implanted they provide an efficient scaffold that can be colonized by the patient's bone. However, their poor mechanical properties impede their use for load-bearing applications. In contrast, no material with high mechanical properties also presents a high bioactivity. A possible way of finding a material both strong and bioactive is to use a composite. We propose here a composite deriving its strength from its alumina core and its bioactivity from a calcium phosphate surface. Ceramic scaffolds have been produced by infiltration of polymer open-celled foams. Several compositions of the slurries have been tested, leading to the realization of porous pieces with a biocompatibility gradient at a micrometric scale. The mechanical properties of several new materials are presented and correlated to their microstructure.