Mini ReviewOpen Access

The key Features expected from a Perfect Bioactive Glass – How Far we still are from an Ideal Composition?

Volume 1 - Issue 4

**José M F Ferreira* and Avito Rebelo**

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- Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO, University of Aveiro, Portugal
*Corresponding author: José M F Ferreira, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

Received: August 16, 2017; Published: September 07, 2017

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2017.01.000335

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Abstract

The research efforts are often driven by real needs for new or better materials, processes or systems that do not satisfactorily fulfil the expected/desired roles or functions. The discovery of bioactive glasses (BGs) in the late 1960s is a paradigmatic example of a new class of materials intended to replace inert metal and plastic implants that were not well tolerated by the body. Bioactive glasses elicit special responses when in contact with biological fluids that lead to the formation of a bone-like hydroxyapatite (HA) layer at the surface of BGs in vivo and to their strong bonding to living tissues. This last feature of 45S5Bioglass® represents a remarkable milestone and has inspired many other investigations aiming at further exploring the in vitro and in vivo performances of this or other related BG compositions. The main drawbacks of 45S5 Bioglass® include the high pH environment created by its high sodium content turning it cytotoxic; and the poor sintering ability that makes the fabrication of porous 3D scaffolds difficult. All these relevant features strongly depend on a number of interrelated factors that need to be well compromised, including the chemical composition and glass structure, which determine the biocompatibility, the degradation rate, and the easiness of processing (shaping and sintering) the material. The present work gives an overview about the motivations behind the development of a new series of alkali-free bioactive glass compositions that offer a set of well-balanced overall properties for the most demanding applications in healthcare, bone regeneration and tissue engineering.

Keywords: Alkali-Free Compositions; Biocompatibility; Processing Ability; Osteoinduction; Osseointegration