Background: Porous ceramic biomaterials structures are accepted components in applied research in the field of tissue engineering due to their mechanical properties being closer to structural tissue like bone or other properties related to improved biocompatibility.
Objective: Hollow-strut, silica enriched zirconia foams were made by replication of polyurethane via impregnation with a suspension of zirconia-particles in polysiloxane.
Methods: Two-step heat treatment allowed conversion of the precursor structures into hollow-strut ceramic foams which were tested for their biocompatibility using an osteoblast cell line. Further, the material was characterized via different spectroscopic (Raman-spectroscopy, EDX) and imaging (SEM, μCT) methods.
Results: The material shows open cell porosity with hollow struts and sufficient structural integrity for handling and an expected chemistry as investigated by Raman and EDX spectroscopy. The material further supported cell growth and overall good biocompatibility.
Conclusions: The investigated composite foam shows promising properties and is potentially interesting as candidate material for future bone tissue engineering applications.
Keywords: Zirconia; biocompatibility; foams; silica; spectroscopy.