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The use of bioresorbable polymers as a support for culturing cells has received special attention as an alternative for the treatment of lesions and the loss of tissue. The aim of this work was to evaluate the degradation in cell culture medium of dense and porous scaffolds of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D,L-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (50:50) (PLGA50) prepared by casting. The adhesion and morphology of osteoblast cells on the surface of these polymers was evaluated. Thermal analyses were done by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis and cell morphology was assessed by scanning electron microscopy. Autocatalysis was observed in PLGA50samples because of the concentration of acid constituents in this material. Samples of PLLA showed no autocatalysis and hence no changes in their morphology, indicating that this polymer can be used as a structural support. Osteoblasts showed low adhesion to PLLA compared to PLGA50. The cell morphology on the surface of these materials was highly dispersed, which indicated a good interaction of the cells with the polymer substrate.

The present werk aims at the study of possible time-dependent changes on the fracture toughness and microstructure of two Y-TZP ceramics with different yttria contents, when immersed in Ringer's solution. The effects of yttria content, sintering time and temperature and immersion time and temperature on the tetragonal phase content and microstructure of these ceramics were studied, using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscope analysis (SEM) of the sample surface. Also, their fracture toughness was measured before and after ageing in Ringer's solution using the Vickers indentation technique. The set of experiments involved in this study was planned using a two-level-four-factor factorial design, and the results were analysed using the Yates algorithm. Among the main variables, the yttria content showed the greatest effect on the fracture toughness reduction of the samples studied, the same applying to the immersion temperature on what concerns the increase in the microstructure degradation of the samples after aging in Ringer's solution.