Great advances were made by SISCERA consortium partners in the development of the world’s first ceramic showing plasticity. This material was based on a novel, highly biocompatible bioceramic composite coupled with a specific surface modification, procuring enhanced osseointegration to implants. The core objective of SISCERA (Smart Innovations from Safe CERAmics) was to prepare market penetration of the first commercial applications of this revolutionary plastic ceramic.
Starting from this material available at project start, the SISCERA consortium finally demonstrated its ability to prepare a range of materials, which properties are balanced progressively from optimal toughness to optimal strength.
This range of materials kept the key features from its initial formulation:
› TOUGHNESS, largely exceeding that of the reference implant material Y-TZP for all compositions, procuring flaw tolerance ability and limited slow crack growth
› STRENGTH, enabling the production of dental implants within the bio-mechanical requirements with a relevant design
› PERFECT LONG-TERM STABILITY against Low-Temperature Degradation, here again procuring a significant added-value compared to existing dental implant materials.
This know-how, industrially installed at Anthogyr and DMC, will allow both partners to apply a MATERIAL by APPLICATION approach, with new application opportunities inside and outside the dental field. These materials can indeed serve as an enabling technology allowing enhanced innovation capacity in many fields such as biomedical (implants, bone saws, dental prosthesis, etc.), automotive, space, fuel cell, cutting tool, ball bearing and chemical industries. The most strategic initial application was the dental implant. This market is indeed expected to grow annually by 6-8% during the next years, to a total of 5.4 Billion € by 2020. In addition, ceramics are gaining popularity on the market as implant materials, but their use is still limited by inadequate toughness and osseointegration properties. The SISCERA consortium has the ideal material and expertise to provide the first dental implant fully meeting patient needs. The current project allowed partners to obtain biocompatibility validation of the implant, confirmation of an improved osseointegration performance, while getting prepared for market introduction.
