Culmination of over 30 years of ceramics research
BIOLOX®† delta represents the most recent advance in the evolution of alumina ceramic for orthopedic applications—providing the well-known advantages of previous generation alumina ceramics along with innovative toughening mechanisms. (Table 1)
Combines strength and toughness
As a composite of alumina and zirconia, BIOLOX delta combines the excellent hardness and wear properties of alumina with the superior fracture toughness properties associated with zirconia. [1,2]
Table 1: Improvements over 3 generations of alumina ceramics [3]
| BIOLOX | BIOLOX forte | BIOLOX delta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year introduced | 1974 | 1995 | 2004 |
| 4-point bending strength (MPa) |
500 (45) | 631 (38) | 1384 (67) |
| Fracture toughness K10 (MPam1/2) |
3.0 (0.45) | 3.2 (0.4) | 6.5 (0.3) |
| Hardness HV1 (GPa) |
20 | 20 | 19 |
Optimized composition and microstructure
Material scientists optimized the chemical composition and microstructure (Figure 1) to design a material with excellent wear and mechanical properties. [1,2]
Figure 1: SEM of BIOLOX delta microstructure
Toughening Mechanisms
The toughness of a material refers to its ability to resist the propagation of cracks. BIOLOX delta utilizes two strategies to improve toughness [2]:
- Crack deflection: The elongated platelet grains deflect and halt microcracks.
- Transformation toughening: Zirconia nanoparticles increase slightly in volume when triggered by nearby microcrack, providing an obstacle to crack propagation.
† BIOLOX delta is a registered trademark of Cerasiv GmbH Innovatives Keramick-Engineering and CeramTec AG Innovative Ceramic Engineering.
- Masson B. Emergence of the alumina matrix composite in total hip arthroplasty. International Orthopaedics 2009; 33(2): 359-363.
- Kuntz M, Shneider N, Heros R. Controlled Zirconia Phase Transformation in BIOLOX® delta — a Feature of Safety. In Bioceramics and Alternative Bearings in Joint Arthroplasty. 10th BIOLOX Symposium Proceedings. (eds. D’Antonio JA, Dietrich M) Steinkopff Verlag, Darmstadt, 2005; 79-83.
- CermTec AG. BIOLOX delta nanocomposite for arthroplasty The fourth generation of Ceramics: Scientific information and performance data. [Brochure] Retrieved from mt_biolox_delta_en.pdf.