Novel bioactive Co-based alloy/FA nanocomposite for dental applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Materials Engineering
• Dental Materials

Background:

• Dental cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) alloys are widely used but bioinert.
• Bioactivity, the ability to bond with tissues, is crucial for advanced dental applications.
• Enhancing the bioactivity of existing dental alloys is a significant research goal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a novel cobalt alloy/Fluorapatite nanocomposite (CoA/FaNC).
• To evaluate the bioactivity of the fabricated nanocomposite with varying Fluorapatite (FA) content.
• To determine if FA addition can impart bioactivity to a bioinert Co-Cr-Mo alloy.

Main Methods:

• Co-Cr-Mo alloy powder was mixed with 10, 15, or 20 wt% FA nanopowder.
• Composite powders were cold pressed and sintered at 1100°C for 4 hours.
• Characterization included XRD, SEM, TEM; bioactivity was assessed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 days.

Main Results:

• Apatite nuclei formation was observed on the CoA/FaNC surface after immersion in SBF.
• The CoA/FaNC exhibited bone-like apatite formation ability, unlike the base Co-Cr-Mo alloy.
• The addition of FA nanoparticles successfully enhanced the bioactivity of the cobalt alloy.

Conclusions:

• Bioinert Co-Cr-Mo alloy can be successfully transformed into a bioactive nanocomposite.
• Incorporating 10-20 wt% FA nanoparticles is effective in achieving this transformation.
• The novel CoA/FaNC shows promise as a bioactive dental material.