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Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 39085

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Dr. Francesco Baino

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Institute of Materials Physics and Engineering, Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: ceramics; glasses; porous materials; additive manufacturing; bioactive glasses; bioceramics; composites; tissue engineering; multifunctional biomaterials; biomedical scaffolds; advanced ceramics; sustainable materials; waste management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Dilshat Tulyaganov

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Department of Natural-mathematical Sciences, Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, Tashkent 100095, Uzbekistan
Interests: ceramics; porcelain; bioactive glasses; composites; tissue engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, there have been tremendous advances in the field of biomedicine and implantable materials for healthcare. The use of crystalline, semi-crystalline, and amorphous bioceramics (glasses), as well as their combinations with other materials to produce complex, ingenious, and even “smart” structures, has revolutionized the surgical treatment of various diseases that primarily affect bone and teeth. Bioceramics and bioglasses are also showing great promise for use in contact with soft tissues, thus contributing to the development of new therapeutic approaches and to the significant improvement of the quality of life of an increasing number of patients.

This Special Issue covers the major areas related to the design, processing, modelling, characterization, and clinical use of biomedical ceramics and glasses, including advanced manufacturing methods, tissue-engineering scaffolds, cell-material and tissue-material interactions, biomimetic and bioinspired structures, biosensors and coatings, hierarchical systems, safety and environmental issues, and regulatory aspects.

We are then very pleased to invite you to submit a manuscript to the Special Issue “Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019”. Full research articles, short communications, and comprehensive review papers covering all aspects of research about bioceramics and bioglasses are welcome.

Dr. Francesco Baino
Prof. Dilshat Tulyaganov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

bioceramics
bioactive glasses
glass-ceramics
calcium phosphates
composites
coatings
porous scaffolds
hybrids
graphene
bioactivity
additive manufacturing
surface functionalization
modelling
tissue engineering
cell interactions
biosensors
drug delivery
ion release
mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs)
functionally-graded bioceramics
hierarchical bioceramics
nanobioceramics

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Facile Synthesis Process and Evaluations of α-Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate for Bone Substitute

by Nhi Thao Ngoc Le, Ngoc Thuy Trang Le, Quang Lam Nguyen, Truc Le-Buu Pham, Minh-Tri Nguyen-Le and Dai Hai Nguyen

Materials 2020, 13(14), 3099; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13143099 - 11 Jul 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2757

Abstract

Alpha-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (α-HH) has been used effectively in grafting through its desired features to support bone regeneration. In recent years, many synthetic methods have been proposed. Among them, the autoclave method for manufacturing α-HH is best suited for cost-savings due to its simple operation and limited use of additives. Despite these advantages, the synthesis of surgical grade products without the use of any additives has not yet been clearly discussed. In this study, surgical grade α-HH was successfully produced from calcium sulfate dihydrate (DH) using the autoclave method at an elevated temperature and pressure. The synthesized powder had a high purity of about 98.62% α-HH with a prismatic morphology (20.96 ± 8.83 µm in length and 1.30 ± 0.71 µm in diameter). The screening tests, in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution, for the product properties showed no bioactivity, and fast degradation accompanied by a slight decrease in pH. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay showed good biocompatibility of the material, however, its potential for cytotoxicity was also observed in NIH 3T3 cells. Briefly, despite some unfavorable properties, the autoclave-synthesized α-HH is a promising bone graft substitute that can be applied in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgeries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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20 pages, 10457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strontium- and Cobalt-Doped Multicomponent Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses (MBGs) for Potential Use in Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

by Farzad Kermani, Sahar Mollazadeh Beidokhti, Francesco Baino, Zahra Gholamzadeh-Virany, Masoud Mozafari and Saeid Kargozar

Materials 2020, 13(6), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13061348 - 16 Mar 2020

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 4818

Abstract

Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) offer suitable platforms for drug/ion delivery in tissue engineering strategies. The main goal of this study was to prepare strontium (Sr)- and cobalt (Co)-doped MBGs; strontium is currently used in the treatment of osteoporosis, and cobalt is known to exhibit pro-angiogenic effects. Sr- and Co-doped mesoporous glasses were synthesized for the first time in a multicomponent silicate system via the sol–gel method by using P123 as a structure-directing agent. The glassy state of the Sr- and Co-doped materials was confirmed by XRD before immersion in SBF, while an apatite-like layer was detected onto the surface of samples post-immersion. The textural characteristics of MBGs were confirmed by nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. In vitro experiments including MTT assay, Alizarin red staining, and cell attachment and migration showed the cytocompatibility of all the samples as well as their positive effects on osteoblast-like cell line MG-63. Early experiments with human umbilical vein endothelial cells also suggested the potential of these MBGs in the context of angiogenesis. In conclusion, the prepared materials were bioactive, showed the ability to improve osteoblast cell function in vitro and could be considered as valuable delivery vehicles for therapeutics, like Co²⁺ and Sr²⁺ ions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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13 pages, 2443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dolomite-Foamed Bioactive Silicate Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Repair

by Elisa Fiume, Dilshat Tulyaganov, Graziano Ubertalli, Enrica Verné and Francesco Baino

Materials 2020, 13(3), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030628 - 31 Jan 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 2636

Abstract

The use of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds is recognized worldwide as a valuable biomedical approach for promoting tissue regeneration in critical-size bone defects. Over the last 50 years, bioactive glasses have been intensively investigated in a wide range of different clinical applications, from orthopedics to soft tissue healing. Bioactive glasses exhibit the unique capability to chemically bond to the host tissue and, furthermore, their processing versatility makes them very appealing due to the availability of different manufacturing techniques for the production of porous and interconnected synthetic bone grafts able to support new tissue growth over the whole duration of the treatment. As a novel contribution to the broad field of scaffold manufacturing, we report here an effective and relatively easy method to produce silicate glass-derived scaffolds by using, for the first time in the biomedical field, dolomite powder as a foaming agent for the formation of 3D bone-like porous structures. Morphological/structural features, crystallization behavior, and in vitro bioactivity in a simulated body fluid (SBF) were investigated. All the tested scaffolds were found to fulfil the minimum requirements that a scaffold for osseous repair should exhibit, including porosity (65–83 vol.%) and compressive strength (1.3–3.9 MPa) comparable to those of cancellous bone, as well as hydroxyapatite-forming ability (bioactivity). This study proves the suitability of a dolomite-foaming method for the production of potentially suitable bone grafts based on bioactive glass systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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13 pages, 2377 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison between Bioactive Sol-Gel and Melt-Derived Glasses/Glass-Ceramics Based on the Multicomponent SiO₂–P₂O₅–CaO–MgO–Na₂O–K₂O System

by Elisa Fiume, Carla Migneco, Enrica Verné and Francesco Baino

Materials 2020, 13(3), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030540 - 23 Jan 2020

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 4111

Abstract

Bioactive sol-gel glasses are attractive biomaterials from both technological and functional viewpoints as they require lower processing temperatures compared to their melt-derived counterparts and exhibit a high specific surface area due to inherent nanoporosity. However, most of these materials are based on relatively simple binary or ternary oxide systems since the synthesis of multicomponent glasses via sol-gel still is a challenge. This work reports for the first time the production and characterization of sol-gel materials based on a six-oxide basic system (SiO₂–P₂O₅–CaO–MgO–Na₂O–K₂O). It was shown that calcination played a role in inducing the formation of crystalline phases, thus generating glass-ceramic materials. The thermal, microstructural and textural properties, as well as the in vitro bioactivity, of these sol-gel materials were assessed and compared to those of the melt-derived counterpart glass with the same nominal composition. In spite of their glass-ceramic nature, these materials retained an excellent apatite-forming ability, which is key in bone repair applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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14 pages, 5846 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Facile Preparative Access to Bioactive Silicon Oxycarbides with Tunable Porosity

by Fangtong Xie, Emanuel Ionescu, Marcela Arango-Ospina, Ralf Riedel, Aldo R. Boccaccini and Isabel Gonzalo-Juan

Materials 2019, 12(23), 3862; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12233862 - 22 Nov 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2812

Abstract

In the present work, Ca-containing silicon oxycarbides (SiCaOC) with varying Ca content have been synthesized via sol-gel processing and thermal treatment in inert gas atmosphere (pyrolysis). It has been shown that the as-prepared SiCaOC materials with low Ca loadings (Ca/Si molar ratios = 0.05 or 0.12) were X-ray amorphous; their glassy network contains Q³ sites, indicating the presence of Ca²⁺ at non-bridging-oxygen sites. SiCaOC with high Ca content (i.e., Ca/Si molar ratio = 0.50) exhibits the presence of crystalline calcium silicate (mainly pseudowollastonite). Furthermore, it has been shown that the incorporation of Ca into the SiOC glassy network has a significant effect on its porosity and specific surface area. Thus, the as-prepared Ca-free SiOC material is shown to be non-porous and having a specific surface area (SSA) of 22.5 m²/g; whereas SiCaOC with Ca/Si molar ratio of 0.05 exhibits mesoporosity and a SSA value of 123.4 m²/g. The further increase of Ca content leads to a decrease of the SSA and the generation of macroporosity in SiCaOC; thus, SiCaOC with Ca/Si molar ratio of 0.12 is macroporous and exhibits a SSA value of 39.5 m²/g. Bioactivity assessment in simulated body fluid (SBF) confirms the hydroxyapatite formation on all SiCaOC samples after seven days soaking, unlike the relatively inert ternary silicon oxycarbide reference. In particular, SiCaOC with a Ca/Si molar ratio of 0.05 shows an increased apatite forming ability compared to that of SiCaOC with Ca/Si molar ratio of 0.12; this difference is considered to be a direct consequence of the significantly higher SSA of the sample with the Ca/Si ratio of 0.05. The present work indicates two effects of Ca incorporation into the silicon oxycarbide glassy network on its bioactivity: Firstly, Ca²⁺ is shown to contribute to the slight depolymerization of the network, which clearly triggers the hydroxyapatite formation (compare the bioactive behavior of SiOC to that of SiCaOC with Ca/Si molar ratio 0.12 upon SBF exposure); secondly, the Ca²⁺ incorporation seems to strongly affect the porosity and SSA in the prepared SiCaOC materials. There is an optimum of Ca loading into the silicon oxycarbide glassy network (at a Ca/Si molar ration of 0.05), which provides mesoporosity and reaches maximum SSA, both highly beneficial for the bioactive behavior of the materials. An increase of the Ca loading leads, in addition to the crystallization of calcium silicates, to a coarsening of the pores (i.e., macroporosity) and a significant decrease of the SSA, both negatively affecting the bioactivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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16 pages, 8226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Robocasting of SiO₂-Based Bioactive Glass Scaffolds with Porosity Gradient for Bone Regeneration and Potential Load-Bearing Applications

by Jacopo Barberi, Francesco Baino, Elisa Fiume, Gissur Orlygsson, Amy Nommeots-Nomm, Jonathan Massera and Enrica Verné

Materials 2019, 12(17), 2691; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12172691 - 22 Aug 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 3499

Abstract

Additive manufacturing of bioactive glasses has recently attracted high interest in the field of regenerative medicine as a versatile class of fabrication methods to process bone substitute materials. In this study, melt-derived glass particles from the SiO₂-P₂O₅-CaO-MgO-Na₂O-K₂O system were used to fabricate bioactive scaffolds with graded porosity by robocasting. A printable ink made of glass powder and Pluronic F-127 (binder) was extruded into a grid-like three-dimensional structure with bimodal porosity, i.e., the inner part of the scaffold had macropores with smaller size compared to the periphery. The crystallization behavior of the glass powder was studied by hot-stage microscopy, differential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction; the scaffolds were sintered at a temperature below the onset of crystallization so that amorphous structures could be obtained. Scaffold architecture was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and microtomographic analysis that allowed quantifying the microstructural parameters. In vitro tests in Kokubo’s simulated body fluid (SBF) confirmed the apatite-forming ability (i.e., bioactivity) of the scaffolds. The compressive strength was found to slightly decrease during immersion in SBF up to 4 weeks but still remained comparable to that of human cancellous bone. The pH and concentration of released ions in SBF were also measured at each time point. Taken together, these results (favorable porosity, mechanical strength, and in vitro bioactivity) show great promise for the potential application of these robocast scaffolds in bone defect repair. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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Review

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34 pages, 4652 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biomedical Waste Management by Using Nanophotocatalysts: The Need for New Options

by Sara Hooshmand, Saeid Kargozar, Ahmad Ghorbani, Majid Darroudi, Meysam Keshavarz, Francesco Baino and Hae-Won Kim

Materials 2020, 13(16), 3511; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163511 - 09 Aug 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 7985

Abstract

Biomedical waste management is getting significant consideration among treatment technologies, since insufficient management can cause danger to medicinal service specialists, patients, and their environmental conditions. The improvement of waste administration protocols, plans, and policies are surveyed, despite setting up training programs on legitimate waste administration for all healthcare service staff. Most biomedical waste substances do not degrade in the environment, and may also not be thoroughly removed through treatment processes. Therefore, the long-lasting persistence of biomedical waste can effectively have adverse impact on wildlife and human beings, as well. Hence, photocatalysis is gaining increasing attention for eradication of pollutants and for improving the safety and clearness of the environment due to its great potential as a green and eco-friendly process. In this regard, nanostructured photocatalysts, in contrast to their regular counterparts, exhibit significant attributes such as non-toxicity, low cost and higher absorption efficiency in a wider range of the solar spectrum, making them the best candidate to employ for photodegradation. Due to these unique properties of nanophotocatalysts for biomedical waste management, we aim to critically evaluate various aspects of these materials in the present review and highlight their importance in healthcare service settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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19 pages, 4923 KiB

Open AccessReview

3D Printing of Hierarchical Scaffolds Based on Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses (MBGs)—Fundamentals and Applications

by Francesco Baino and Elisa Fiume

Materials 2020, 13(7), 1688; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071688 - 04 Apr 2020

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 3954

Abstract

The advent of mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) in applied bio-sciences led to the birth of a new class of nanostructured materials combining triple functionality, that is, bone-bonding capability, drug delivery and therapeutic ion release. However, the development of hierarchical three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds based on MBGs may be difficult due to some inherent drawbacks of MBGs (e.g., high brittleness) and technological challenges related to their fabrication in a multiscale porous form. For example, MBG-based scaffolds produced by conventional porogen-assisted methods exhibit a very low mechanical strength, making them unsuitable for clinical applications. The application of additive manufacturing techniques significantly improved the processing of these materials, making it easier preserving the textural and functional properties of MBGs and allowing stronger scaffolds to be produced. This review provides an overview of the major aspects relevant to 3D printing of MBGs, including technological issues and potential applications of final products in medicine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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18 pages, 4850 KiB

Open AccessReview

Functionalization and Surface Modifications of Bioactive Glasses (BGs): Tailoring of the Biological Response Working on the Outermost Surface Layer

by Saeid Kargozar, Farzad Kermani, Sahar Mollazadeh Beidokhti, Sepideh Hamzehlou, Enrica Verné, Sara Ferraris and Francesco Baino

Materials 2019, 12(22), 3696; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12223696 - 09 Nov 2019

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 5659

Abstract

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are routinely being used as potent materials for hard and soft tissue engineering applications; however, improving their biological activities through surface functionalization and modification has been underestimated so far. The surface characteristics of BGs are key factors in determining the success of any implanted BG-based material in vivo since they regulate the affinity and binding of different biological macromolecules and thereby the interactions between cells and the implant. Therefore, a number of strategies using chemical agents (e.g., glutaraldehyde, silanes) and physical methods (e.g., laser treatment) have been evaluated and applied to design properly, tailor, and improve the surface properties of BGs. All these approaches aim at enhancing the biological activities of BGs, including the induction of cell proliferation and subsequent osteogenesis, as well as the inhibition of bacterial growth and adhesion, thereby reducing infection. In this study, we present an overview of the currently used approaches of surface functionalization and modifications of BGs, along with discussing the biological outputs induced by these changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Ceramics and Glasses 2019)

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