PVP as an Oxygen Vacancy-Inducing Agent in the Development of Black 45S5 Bioactive Glass Fibrous Scaffolds Doped with Zn and Mg Using A-HSBS

Abstract

Currently, there is an increasing demand for advanced materials that can address the needs of tissue engineering and have the potential for use in treatments targeting tumor cells, such as black bioactive materials in photothermal therapy. Thus, 3D fibrous scaffolds of black 45S5 bioactive glass were produced using the air-heated solution blow spinning (A-HSBS) technique, with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) serving as a spinning aid and an oxygen vacancy-inducing agent. Glass powder with the same composition was synthesized via the sol-gel route for comparison. The samples were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, along with in vitro tests using simulated body fluid (SBF), phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and TRIS solution. The results showed that PVP enhanced oxygen vacancy formation and stabilized the scaffolds at 600 °C. Doping with Zn and Mg ions reduced crystallization while significantly increasing the fiber diameters. Scaffolds doped with Zn exhibited lower degradation rates, delayed apatite formation, and hindered ionic release. Conversely, Mg ions facilitated greater interaction with the medium and rapid apatite formation, completely covering the fibers. The scaffolds showed no cytotoxicity in the MTT assay at concentrations of up to 200 µg/mL for HaCat cells and 0.8 mg/mL for L929 cells. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of using PVP in the production of black bioactive glass scaffolds, highlighting their potential for bone regeneration.