Characterization of melt‐derived 45S5 and sol‐gel–derived 58S bioactive glasses

Abstract

The ability of bioactive glasses to form a bond to living bone and also to stimulate bone‐cell proliferation depends on the chemical composition and on the surface texture of the glasses. In this work, the differences in physical properties between the melt‐derived 45S5 and sol‐gel–derived 58S Bioglass® powders of various particle‐size ranges were studied. The powders were characterized for particle‐size distribution by laser spectrometry, for specific surface area and porosity by nitrogen sorption analysis, and for morphological features by scanning electron microscopy. Melt‐derived 45S5 powders exhibited a low‐porosity texture with surface area in the range 0.15–2.7 m 2/g. In contrast, the sol‐gel–derived powders exhibited a highly mesoporous texture, with surface area in the range of 126.5–164.7 m 2/g and a large fraction of 6–9 nm pore sizes. These differences in texture, as well as variations in chemical composition, account for significant changes in the resorption and in vivo responses. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 58: 734–740, 2001