Chemical composition effect of sol-gel derived bioactive glass over bioactivity behavior

Abstract

Bioactive glasses (BG) are a group of inorganic materials widely used in Bone Tissue Engineering (BTE). These biomaterials react with body fluids resulting in the formation of bone like apatite layer. In this study, sol-gel derived bioactive glass was synthesized in the SiO2-CaO-P2O5 system according to augmented constrained mixture experimental design, with percentage restrictions for each oxide as follows: 58 ≤ SiO2 ≤ 70; 6 ≤ P2O5 ≤ 9 and 24 ≤ CaO ≤ 34. BG were conformed into short-bulk cylinders and immersed in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution for 7 and 14 days in order to carry out bioactivity tests. Apatite layer formation was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX). The results showed apatite layer formation depended on BG chemical composition proved with p-values from ANOVA analysis below 0.05 indicating factors significance over the response. The formed apatite layer presented a Ca/P ratio similar to bone apatite, this result is appropriate for biomaterials used in BTE.