ABSTRACT
Bioceramics have a significant role in contemporary medicine. Due to their advantageous biomechanical qualities, there was a surge of interest in the late 1960s in researching various ceramic kinds as prospective bone grafts. Those synthetic biomaterials were eventually known as bioceramics. It is one kind of ceramics that is employed to restore or replace damaged bone tissues. Based on their properties, bioceramics can be defined as bioinert, bioactive, and bioresorbable. It became feasible to choose whether or not the bioceramic implants were biologically sustainable once implanted into the skeletal structure based on the selection of the proper chemical composition in conjunction with compositional and structural controls. In so many nations, bioceramic material development is at the highest echelon of health-related challenges. Involvement and sophistication in ceramic biomaterials research may only be matched by electronic ceramics, according to some. Although calcium phosphate-based coatings on the hip, knee, and dental implants have a major impact on the development of clinical success, many research groups across the world are focused on finding ways to extend the lifespan of implants and give them superior physiological qualities. Ceramics are typically inorganic substances with covalent or ionic bonding. As a result, they are relatively hard, have high melting temperatures, and have low electricity and heat conduction. But in the case of bioceramics, dimensionally stable, bacterial resistance, corrosion resistance, and total chemical inertness are all characteristics that are present in finished bioceramic products and those must be needed for various medicinal applications. For biomedical uses, bioceramics should be biocompatible and also biofunctional. Because of their superior structural, biomechanical, biochemical, bioelectrical, and biothermal properties, bioceramics are placed on top of biocompatibility. Bioceramics and their composites exhibit high potential, so it is expected to withstand environmental conditions while suitable for long-term use. Materials that come within the category of bioceramics include alumina, zirconia, hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphates, and their combinations. It is also imperative to know how bioceramics react with the biological systems and to effectively recommend bioceramics for their potential biomedical applications. By explaining atomic bond and structural arrangement of bioceramics, structural properties are discussed. In the section on the chemical properties of bioceramics, inert ceramic materials are mentioned. Impedance and electroactivity of bioceramics are reviewed here by giving an example of hydroxyapatite in the section on electrical properties. Mechanical properties are studied by using alumina, zirconia, silicate bioceramics, and bioactive glass ceramics components’ properties and their mechanical performances. Moreover, all these properties are reviewed by addressing their biocompatibility and biofunctionality. So, in this chapter, we discuss the structural, chemical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of bioceramics for biomedical applications.
