Version 1
: Received: 24 March 2021 / Approved: 25 March 2021 / Online: 25 March 2021 (15:27:22 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 15 April 2021 / Approved: 15 April 2021 / Online: 15 April 2021 (12:55:38 CEST)
Heimann, R.B. Silicon Nitride, a Close to Ideal Ceramic Material for Medical Application. Ceramics 2021, 4, 208–223, doi:10.3390/ceramics4020016.
Heimann, R.B. Silicon Nitride, a Close to Ideal Ceramic Material for Medical Application. Ceramics 2021, 4, 208–223, doi:10.3390/ceramics4020016.
Heimann, R.B. Silicon Nitride, a Close to Ideal Ceramic Material for Medical Application. Ceramics 2021, 4, 208–223, doi:10.3390/ceramics4020016.
Heimann, R.B. Silicon Nitride, a Close to Ideal Ceramic Material for Medical Application. Ceramics 2021, 4, 208–223, doi:10.3390/ceramics4020016.
Abstract
This topical review describes the results of recent research into and development of silicon nitride, a ceramic material with unique properties. The outcome of this ongoing research strongly encourages the use of monolithic silicon nitride and coatings as contemporary and future biomaterial for a variety of medical applications. Crystallographic structure, synthesis and processing of monolithic structures and coatings, and examples of their medical applications are covered that relate to spinal, orthopedic and dental implants, bone grafts and scaffolds, platforms for intelligent synthetic neural circuits, antibacterial and antiviral particles and coatings, optical biosensors, and nano-photonic waveguides for sophisticated medical diagnostic devices. The examples provided show convincingly that silicon nitride is destined to become a leader to replace titanium and other entrenched biomaterials in many fields of medicine.
Keywords
Silicon nitride; structure; properties; processing; coatings; spinal implants; arthroplastic implants; bone scaffolds; dental implants; neural circuits; biosensors; medical diagnostics.
Subject
Chemistry and Materials Science, Biomaterials
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.