Preparation of a Bioactive Functionally Graded Ceramic-Polymer Hybrid

A ceramic-polymer nano-hybrid, in which the bioactive silicate surface is nano-hybridized with flexible silicone bulk, was synthesized in the tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sol-gel system. Different solutions for surface silicate and bulk silicone, whose component ratio of SiO2: PDMS were respectively 100: 0 and 50: 50, were subjected to lamination and delayed polymerization and condensation process, producing a large transparent crack-free monolithic bulk. Characterizations at near-surface cross-section of the hybrid bulk revealed typical bioactive silicate structure with no distinct interface with the interior, indicating possibility of a novel bioactive nano-composite with enhanced physical and biological functions.