Ceramic biomaterials: Properties, state of the art and future prospectives

This article gives an overview of ceramics-based biomaterials with particular emphasis on their various properties and health care applications. Furthermore, bio ceramics are grouped as oxide and nitride-based bioinert ceramics, bioresorbable calcium phosphate-based materials and bioactive glasses/glass ceramics. Ceramics and bioglasses are good biomaterials, here mainly focused on bone replacement applications. Mesoporous glasses, nanocrystalline ceramics and composites, having a high surface area, corrosion resistive and better mechanical properties, could be future biomaterials. Controlled porosity with uniform pores distributed biomaterials could be achieved using fine synthesis routes like sol-gel and additive manufacturing. Bioceramics and bioglasses could also be synthesized by agro-food wastes and optimize their properties according to need and applications easily. Moreover, these sustainable resources exhibit inherent porosity due to presence of organic substance attached with inorganic materials. As crystallinity increased, the bioactivity decreases of ceramics. Both properties can be optimised using nano-crystalline and composite biomaterials.