Bioactive Glass: Chronology, Characterization, and Genetic Control of Tissue Regeneration

Influence of the Structure on Magnetic Properties of Calcium-Phosphate Systems Doped with Iron and Vanadium Ions

The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize the glasses made of x(Fe₂O₃∙V₂O₅)∙(100 - x)[P₂O₅∙CaO] with x ranging of 0-50%. The contribution of Fe₂O₃ and V₂O₅ amount on the structure of P₂O₅·CaO matrix was investigated. The vitreous materials were characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction analysis), EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) spectroscopy, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. A hyperfine structure typical for isolated V⁴⁺ ions was noticed to all spectra containing low amount of V₂O_5. The XRD spectra show the amorphous nature of samples, apart x = 50%. An overlap of the EPR spectrum of a broad line without the hyperfine structure characteristic of clustered ions was observed with increasing V₂O₅ content. The results of magnetic susceptibility measurements explain the antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic interactions expressed between the iron and vanadium ions in the investigated glass.

Bioactive Glass—An Extensive Study of the Preparation and Coating Methods

Diseases or complications that are caused by bone tissue damage affect millions of patients every year. Orthopedic and dental implants have become important treatment options for replacing and repairing missing or damaged parts of bones and teeth. In order to use a material in the manufacture of implants, the material must meet several requirements, such as mechanical stability, elasticity, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, corrosion resistance, and non-toxicity. In the 1970s, a biocompatible glassy material called bioactive glass was discovered. At a later time, several glass materials with similar properties were developed. This material has a big potential to be used in formulating medical devices, but its fragility is an important disadvantage. The use of bioactive glasses in the form of coatings on metal substrates allows the combination of the mechanical hardness of the metal and the biocompatibility of the bioactive glass. In this review, an extensive study of the literature was conducted regarding the preparation methods of bioactive glass and the different techniques of coating on various substrates, such as stainless steel, titanium, and their alloys. Furthermore, the main doping agents that can be used to impart special properties to the bioactive glass coatings are described.

Development of Biodegradable Poly(citrate)-Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes Hybrid Elastomers with High Mechanical Properties and Osteogenic Differentiation Activity

Biodegradable elastomeric biomaterials have attracted much attention in tissue engineering due to their biomimetic viscoelastic behavior and biocompatibility. However, the low mechanical stability at hydrated state, fast biodegradation in vivo, and poor osteogenic activity greatly limited bioelastomers applications in bone tissue regeneration. Herein, we develop a series of poly(octanediol citrate)-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POC-POSS) hybrids with highly tunable elastomeric behavior (hydrated state) and biodegradation and osteoblasts biocompatibility through a facile one-pot thermal polymerization strategy. POC-POSS hybrids show significantly improved stiffness and ductility in either dry or hydrated conditions, as well as good antibiodegradation ability (20-50% weight loss in 3 months). POC-POSS hybrids exhibit significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation through upregulating alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, calcium deposition, and expression of osteogenic markers (ALPL, BGLAP, and Runx2). The high mechanical stability at hydrated state and enhanced osteogenic activity make POC-POSS hybrid elastomers promising as scaffolds and nanoscale vehicles for bone tissue regeneration and drug delivery. This study may also provide a new strategy (controlling the stiffness under hydrated condition) to design advanced hybrid biomaterials with high mechanical properties under physiological condition for tissue regeneration applications.

A Novel Strategy for Softening Gelatin-Bioactive-Glass Hybrids

The brittle structure of polymer-bioactive-glass hybrids is a hurdle for their biomedical applications. To address this issue here, we developed a novel method to cease the overcondensation of bioactive-glass by polymer cross-linking. Here, an organosilane-functionalized gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) is covalently bonded to a bioactive-glass during the sol-gel process, and the condensation of silica networks is controlled by photo-cross-linking of GelMA. The physicochemical properties and mechanical strength of these hybrids are tunable by the incorporation of secondary cross-linking agents. These hydrogels display elastic properties with ultimate compression strain above 0.2 mm·mm(-1) and tunable compressive modulus in the range of 42-530 kPa. In addition, these hydrogels are bioactive because they promoted the alkaline phosphatase activity of bone progenitor cells. They are also well-tolerated in the mice subcutaneous model. Therefore, our method is efficient for the prevention of overcondensation and allows preparation of soft bioactive hydrogels from organic-inorganic matrices, suitable for soft and hard tissue regeneration.