Glass coatings on zirconia with enhanced bioactivity

Highly bioactive glass coatings were successfully achieved by applying a newly developed bioactive glass layer having a low Ca/P ratio on a ZrO2-3%Y2O3 ceramic substrate. The thermal properties of the glass allowed covering zirconia substrates both by amorphous and glass-ceramic coatings. The coatings exhibited 345 mu m thickness and were free from surface cracks, highlighting the good compatibility between the glass and the substrate in terms of expansion coefficient matching. The synthesized materials achieved the formation of a crystalline carbonate apatite layer after 3 days soaking in SBF solution. Although the slight diffusion of the amorphous and glass-ceramic coatings through the ZrO2-3%Y2O3 support (<= 20 mu m and <= 100 mu m, respectively), the rate of formation of carbonate apatite layer was maintained in comparison with the native glass alone, constituting a promising material for application as dental prosthetic devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.