Mesoporous bioactive glasses: Relevance of their porous structure compared to that of classical bioglasses

Abstract

In the last decade, the development of third generation bioceramics for Bone Tissue Regeneration has experienced significant progress with the emergence of a new generation of nanostructured materials named mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBG). This new generation of materials, also known as “templated glasses”, presents chemical compositions similar to those of conventional bioactive sol-gel glasses and the added value of an ordered mesopore arrangement. This article shows an in-depth comparative study of the ordered porous structures of MBGs compared to conventional glasses (melt and sol-gel) and how these properties influence the bioactivity process. Moreover, the possibility to tailor the textural and structural properties of these nanostructured materials by an exhaustive control of the different synthesis parameters is also discussed. A brief overview regarding the possibility of using these materials as controlled drug delivery systems and as starting materials for the fabrication of 3D scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration is also given.