In vitro evaluation of tooth-colored yttria stabilized zirconia ceramics

Effects of MoCl3 and NiCl2, originally incorporated as coloring agent, on the cellular response of 3 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP) ceramics was investigated. MoCl3 and NiCl2-MoCl3 incorporated, tooth-colored 3Y-TZP ceramics were produced through cold isostatic pressing at 100 MPa followed by pressureless sintering at 1450 degrees C for 2 h. Aging was performed on the sintered ceramics using distilled water in a reactor at 134 degrees C at 2.3 bar pressure for 2 h. The phases developed during different stages of processing were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In vitro cell culture studies were carried out using L929 fibroblast cell line. The cell viability and proliferation studies revealed that none of the specimens showed cytotoxicity with respect to coloring. Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) analyses suggested that all of the specimens exhibited good in vitro cytocompatibility. Enhancement in cell attachment, adhesion, and proliferation was observed in all specimens via scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Although the coloring process did not improve the proliferation performance of the aged specimens, the incorporation of transition metals enhanced the in vitro performance of 3Y-TZP ceramics.