ENHANCED CALCIUM PHOSPHATE PRECIPITATION ON THE SURFACE OF Mg-ION-IMPLANTED ZrO2 BIOCERAMIC

Abstract

Modification of bioceramics by ion implantation of magnesium ( Mg ) is of interest as Mg is the fourth abundant cation in the human body. In this work, magnesium was ion-implanted into a ZrO 2 based bioceramic stabilized with Y 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3. Both Mg -implanted and unimplanted samples were soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for a period of time. The deposits on the surface of various samples were characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). We find that the Mg -implanted ZrO 2 shows better bioactivity than the plain bioceramic. These results indicate that Mg -implantation can improve the bioactivity of the ZrO 2 based bioceramic. Mechanisms governing the improvement are discussed in this paper.