Porous zirconia (ZrO2), magnesia (MgO) and zirconia/magnesia (ZrO2/MgO) ceramics were synthesised by sintering and designated as ZrO2(100), ZrO2(75)MgO(25), ZrO2(50)MgO(50), ZrO2(25)MgO(75), MgO(100) based on their composition. The ceramic samples were characterised by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry to explore the incorporation of Mg atoms into the zirconia lattice. The resulting porosity of the samples was calculated based on the composition and density. The final porosity of the cylinder-shaped ceramic samples ranged between 30 and 37%. The mechanical analysis exhibited that the Young modulus increased and the microstress decreased with increasing magnesia amount, with values ranging from 175 GPa for zirconia to 301 GPa for magnesia. The adhesion, viability, proliferation and osteogenic activity of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells cultured on the zirconia/magnesia ceramics was found to increase, with the magnesia-containing ceramics exhibiting higher values of calcium mineralisation. The results from the mechanical analysis, the ALP activity, the calcium and collagen production demonstrate that the zirconia/magnesia ceramics possess robust osteoinductive capacity, therefore holding great potential for bone tissue engineering.
Keywords: Rietveld refinement; Young modulus; atomic substitution; biocompatibility; calcium production; cell adhesion and proliferation; collagen secretion; functional Mg-based biomaterials; magnesia and zirconia scaffolds; microstress.