The surface characterization and bioactivity of NANOZR in vitro.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surface characterization and bioactivity of ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR) in comparison to yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP) and pure titanium (CpTi). Three-dimension surface morphology, surface wettability, bovine serum albumin adsorption rate, cell morphology, cell proliferation and ALP activity of three tested materials were measured. There were no significant differences in surface roughness, contact angle among the three materials. The ALP expression of NANOZR was higher than CpTi and 3Y-TZP at 14 and 21 days although bovine serum albumin adsorption rate, cell morphology; and cell proliferation was not different among the three materials. These results suggest that the three test materials basically had similar surface characterization and bioactivity. Within the limitations of this study, our results show that the three test materials were biologically similar bio-inert materials.