The technology for synthesizing high-quality submicron α-Al2o3 powder for the production of medical ceramics using domestic raw materials was developed at the NSTU Center for New Functional Materials at NSTU by scientists from the Novosibirsk State Technical University of NTI under the guidance of Sergey Veselov, Head of the Laboratory of Ceramic and Metal-Ceramic Materials, Candidate of Technical Sciences.
The project is being implemented with the financial support of the NTI Foundation at the Competence Center of the National Technology Initiative in the field of "Technologies for modeling and developing new functional materials with specified properties" at Novosibirsk State University. As part of the project, the scientific team of NSTU-NETI, a member of the Consortium for New Functional Materials, had the goal of creating a full production cycle of bioinert ceramics for joint endoprostheses: from the synthesis of ceramic powder to the production of finished products.
"Ceramic materials based on aluminum oxide and zirconium dioxide are widely used for the manufacture of endoprostheses that are subjected to intense stress during operation, such as hip and knee joints. First of all, due to such advantages as high wear resistance, the service life of a ceramic implant reaches 20 years, unlike its metal counterpart. In addition, the wear products of ceramic joints lack cytotoxicity — the materials are bioinert in relation to the human body. Today, Japan, Switzerland and Germany are the leaders in the production of aluminum oxide ceramics for large, primarily hip and knee joints. In Russia, there is no production of ceramic raw materials for medical ceramics, so the country is heavily dependent on imports of ceramic components for endoprostheses. In this regard, we have set ourselves the task of developing a complete domestic production chain based on Russian components: from raw materials to finished products," said Sergey Veselov.
In the process of developing the technology for the synthesis of a-Al2O3 submicron powder, the team of the Laboratory of Ceramic and Cermet Materials managed to achieve additional capabilities in terms of controlling the physical and mechanical properties of the final ceramic material. In particular, methods for controlling the geometric characteristics of the synthesized powder have been mastered, which makes it possible to obtain ceramics with specified mechanical properties.
The prototypes of the ceramic powder developed at NSTU-NETI demonstrate characteristics comparable to the products of the world's leading manufacturers.:
· chemical purity of more than 99.5%,
· The dispersion is less than 0.5 microns,
· The phase composition is more than 99% α-Al2O3.
The powder synthesized in the laboratory has already been successfully tested to create aluminum oxide ceramics in the laboratory.
Currently, the scientific team led by Sergey Veselov, together with the NTI Center for New Functional Materials at NSTU, has launched the process of patenting key stages of powder creation technology. The NTI Center and its development team have also begun commercializing the developed materials and their production technologies. The next stage of the work is the search for industrial partners for the widespread introduction of new functional materials for medicine and their manufacturing technologies.