abstract
Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) constitute a new family of bioceramics with the fastest in vitro bioactivity studied so far. In this work, pieces with the composition 85SiO(2)-10CaO-5P(2)O(5) (mol.%) were prepared as MBGs and also by the conventional sol-gel method. After in vitro tests in simulated body fluid, the MBG pieces exhibited compression resistance twice as great than before, whereas conventional sol-gel glasses showed similar values. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate the development of an apatite-like phase not only on the external surface, but also on the grains located within the MBGs pieces. In contrast, conventional sol-gel glasses only developed an apatite-like phase on the external surface. This work presents for the first time a new property of MBGs: the mechanical reinforcement of a bioactive glass through a biomimetic process. This ability is explained in terms of the outstanding bioactive behavior and the three-dimensional mesoporous structure that is exclusive for this bioceramics family. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
keywords
BONE TISSUE REGENERATION; IN-VITRO BIOACTIVITY; MEDICAL APPLICATIONS; DRUG-DELIVERY; SCAFFOLDS; BIOMATERIALS; POWDERS; DESIGN
subject category
Engineering; Materials Science
authors
Arcos, D; Vila, M; Lopez-Noriega, A; Rossignol, F; Champion, E; Oliveira, FJ; Vallet-Regi, M
our authors
Filipe José Alves de Oliveira
Principal Researcheracknowledgements
This work was supported by the Spanish CICYT through the project MAT2008-00736 and by the CAM through project S2009/MAT-1472. The authors thank to Dr. Isabel Izquierdo-Barba for her assistance with TEM studies. M.V. is grateful for the Fp7-people-2007-2-2-ERG grant and thanks the Fondo Social Europeo.