In-vivo evaluations of bone regenerative potential of two novel bioactive glasses.

Due to the aging of population, materials able to repair damaged tissues are needed. Among others, bioactive glasses (BGs) have attracted a lot of interest due to their outstanding properties both for hard and soft tissues. Here, for the first time, two new BGs, which gave very promising results in preliminary in vitro-tests, were implanted in animals in order to evaluate their regenerative potential. The new BGs, named BGMS10 and Bio_MS and containing specific therapeutic ions, were produced in granules and implanted in rabbits' femurs for up to 60 days, to test their biocompatibility and osteoconduction. Additionally, granules of 45S5 Bioglass® were employed and used as a standard reference for comparison. The results showed that, after 30 days, the two novel BGs and 45S5 displayed a similar behavior, in terms of bone amount, thickness of new bone trabeculae and affinity index. On the contrary, after 60 days, 45S5 granules were mainly surrounded by wide and scattered bone trabeculae, separated by large amounts of soft tissue, while in BGMS10 and Bio_MS the trabeculae were thin and uniformly distributed around the BG granules. This latter scenario could be considered as more advantageous, since the features of the two novel BG granules allowed for the neo-formation of a uniformly distributed bony trabeculae, predictive of more favorable mechanical behavior, compared to the less uniform coarse trabeculae, separated by large areas of soft tissue in 45S5 granules. Thus, BGMS10 and Bio_MS could be considered suitable products for tissue regeneration in the orthopedic and dental fields.

Direct ink writing of silica-bonded calcite scaffolds from preceramic polymers and fillers.

Silica-bonded calcite scaffolds have been successfully 3D-printed by direct ink writing, starting from a paste comprising a silicone polymer and calcite powders, calibrated in order to match a SiO2/CaCO3 weight balance of 35/65. The scaffolds, fabricated with two slightly different geometries, were first cross-linked at 350 °C, then fired at 600 °C, in air. The low temperature adopted for the conversion of the polymer into amorphous silica, by thermo-oxidative decomposition, prevented the decomposition of calcite. The obtained silica-bonded calcite scaffolds featured open porosity of about 56%-64% and compressive strength of about 2.9-5.5 MPa, depending on the geometry. Dissolution studies in SBF and preliminary cell culture tests, with bone marrow stromal cells, confirmed the in vitro bioactivity of the scaffolds and their biocompatibility. The seeded cells were found to be alive, well anchored and spread on the samples surface. The new silica-calcite composites are expected to be suitable candidates as tissue-engineering 3D scaffolds for regeneration of cancellous bone defects.

Bioactive glass/ZrO2 composites for orthopaedic applications.

Binary biocomposites were realized by combining yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) with a bioactive glass matrix. Few works are available regarding composites containing zirconia and a relatively high content of glass because the resulting samples are usually biocompatible but not bioactive after thermal treatment. In the present research, the promising properties of the new BG_Ca-K glass, with its low tendency to crystallize and high apatite-forming ability, allowed us to sinter the composites at a relatively low temperature with excellent effects in terms of bioactivity. In addition, it was possible to benefit from the good mechanical behaviour of Y-TZP, thus obtaining samples with microhardness values that were among the highest reported in the literature. After a detailed analysis regarding the thermal behaviour of the composite powders, the sintered bodies were fully characterized by means of x-ray diffraction, SEM equipped with EDS, density measurements, volumetric shrinkage determination, mechanical testing and in vitro evaluation in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. According to the experimental results, the presence of Y-TZP improved the mechanical performance. Meanwhile, the BG_Ca-K glass, which mainly preserved its amorphous structure after sintering, provided the composites with a good apatite-forming ability in SBF.

Novel processing of bioglass ceramics from silicone resins containing micro- and nano-sized oxide particle fillers.

Highly porous scaffolds with composition similar to those of 45S5 and 58S bioglasses were successfully produced by an innovative processing method based on preceramic polymers containing micro- and nano-sized fillers. Silica from the decomposition of the silicone resins reacted with the oxides deriving from the fillers, yielding glass ceramic components after heating at 1000°C. Despite the limited mechanical strength, the obtained samples possessed suitable porous architecture and promising biocompatibility and bioactivity characteristics, as testified by preliminary in vitro tests.

Bioactive glass-based composites for the production of dense sintered bodies and porous scaffolds.

Recently several attempts have been made to combine calcium phosphates, such as ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) and, most of all, hydroxyapatite (HA), with bioactive glasses of different composition, in order to develop composites with improved biological and mechanical performance. Unfortunately, the production of such systems usually implies a high-temperature treatment (up to 1300 °C), which may result in several drawbacks, including crystallization of the original glass, decomposition of the calcium phosphate phase and/or reactions between the constituent phases, with non-trivial consequences in terms of microstructure, bioactivity and mechanical properties of the final samples. In the present contribution, novel binary composites have been obtained by sintering a bioactive glass, characterized by a low tendency to crystallize, with the addition of HA or ß-TCP as the second phase. In particular, the composites have been treated at a relatively low temperature (818 °C and 830 °C, depending on the sample), thus preserving the amorphous structure of the glass and minimizing the interaction between the constituent phases. The effects of the glass composition, calcium phosphate nature and processing conditions on the composite microstructure, mechanical properties and in vitro bioactivity have been systematically discussed. To conclude, a feasibility study to obtain scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration has been proposed.

Biomimetic coating on bioactive glass-derived scaffolds mimicking bone tissue.

Bioceramic "shell" scaffolds, with a morphology resembling the cancellous bone microstructure, have been recently obtained by means of a new protocol, developed with the aim to overcome the limits of the conventional foam replication technique. Because of their original microstructure, the new samples combine high porosity, permeability, and manageability. In this study, for the first time, the novel bioactive glass shell scaffolds are provided with a gelatin-based biomimetic coating to realize hybrid implants which mimic the complex morphology and structure of bone tissue. Moreover, the presence of the coating completely preserves the in vitro bioactivity of the bioactive glass samples, whose surfaces are converted into hydroxyapatite after a few days of immersion in a simulated body fluid solution (SBF).

Processing and characterization of innovative scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

A new protocol, based on a modified replication method, is proposed to obtain bioactive glass scaffolds. The main feature of these samples, named "shell scaffolds", is their external surface that, like a compact and porous shell, provides both high permeability to fluids and mechanical support. In this work, two different scaffolds were prepared using the following slurry components: 59 % water, 29 % 45S5 Bioglass(®) and 12 % polyvinylic binder and 51 % water, 34 % 45S5 Bioglass(®), 10 % polyvinylic binder and 5 % polyethylene. All the proposed samples were characterized by a widespread microporosity and an interconnected macroporosity, with a total porosity of 80 % vol. After immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF), the scaffolds showed strong ability to develop hydroxyapatite, enhanced by the high specific surface of the porous systems. Moreover preliminary biological evaluations suggested a promising role of the shell scaffolds for applications in bone tissue regeneration. As regards the mechanical behaviour, the shell scaffolds could be easily handled without damages, due to their resistant external surface. More specifically, they possessed suitable mechanical properties for bone regeneration, as proved by compression tests performed before and after immersion in SBF.

Heat treatment of Na2O-CaO-P2O5-SiO2 bioactive glasses: densification processes and postsintering bioactivity.

Because of their excellent bioactivity, bioactive glasses are increasingly diffused to produce biomedical devices for bone prostheses, to face the dysfunctions that may be caused by traumatic events, diseases, or even natural aging. However, several processing routes, such as the production of scaffolds or the deposition of coatings, include a thermal treatment to apply or sinter the glass. The exposure to high temperature may induce a devetrification phenomenon, altering the properties and, in particular, the bioactivity of the glass. The present contribution offers an overview of the thermal behavior and properties of two glasses belonging to the Na2O-CaO-P2O5-SiO2 system, to be compared to the standard 45S5 Bioglass(®). The basic goal is to understand the effect of both the original composition and the thermal treatment on the performance of the sintered glasses. The new glasses, the one (BG_Na) with a high content of Na2O, the other (BG_Ca) with a high content of CaO, were fully characterized and sintering tests were performed to define the most interesting firing cycles. The sintered samples, treated at 880°C and 800°C respectively, were investigated from a microstructural point of view and their mechanical properties were compared to those of the bulk (not sintered) glass counterparts. The effect of sintering was especially striking on the BG_Ca material, whose Vickers hardness increased from 598.9 ± 46.7 HV to 1053.4 ± 35.0 HV. The in vitro tests confirmed the ability of the glasses, both in bulk and sintered form, of generating a hydroxyapatite surface layer when immersed in a simulated body fluid. More accurate biological tests performed on the sintered glasses proved the high bioactivity of the CaO-rich composition even after a heat treatment.

Microstructure and in vitro behaviour of 45S5 bioglass coatings deposited by high velocity suspension flame spraying (HVSFS).

The high-velocity suspension flame spraying technique (HVSFS) was employed in order to deposit 45S5 bioactive glass coatings onto titanium substrates, using a suspension of micron-sized glass powders dispersed in a water + isopropanol mixture as feedstock. By modifying the process parameters, five coatings with different thickness and porosity were obtained. The coatings were entirely glassy but exhibited a through-thickness microstructural gradient, as the deposition mechanisms of the glass droplets changed at every torch cycle because of the increase in the system temperature during spraying. After soaking in simulated body fluid, all of the coatings were soon covered by a layer of hydroxyapatite; furthermore, the coatings exhibited no cytotoxicity and human osteosarcoma cells could adhere and proliferate well onto their surfaces. HVSFS-deposited 45S5 bioglass coatings are therefore highly bioactive and have potentials as replacement of conventional hydroxyapatite in order to favour osseointegration of dental and prosthetic implants.