Biomedical Applications of Zirconia Nanomaterials

The chapter incorporates a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and use of zirconia nanomaterials in the Hfe sciences today. First, an overview is provided of the synthetic schemes for nanoparticles and anisotropic nanostructures, with the most frequently used strategies being discussed, together with examples. In general, the syntheses are described with no specific application in mind rather, the discussion will center on synthetic approaches for nanomaterials used in biomedical applications, or which may be further processed to materials capable of use in the life sciences. 

Gas-phase methods are widely used for the industrial production of the metal oxide nanopowders with diverse particle sizes that are often used as feedstocks in the preparation of ceramics. The stabilization of such powders has provend difficult task, however, and many of today s in vivo applications of nanomaterials rely on solution-based methods, based on much better possibilities of functionalization and manipulation. Comminution has also begun to be accepted for the production of nanoscale powders, although its use for high-purity zirconia nanomaterials, as required for biomedical use, is severely hampered by the extreme hardness of Zr02-... 

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