Effect of Sol-Gel Ageing Time on Three Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Structure of 80SiO2-15CaO-5P2O5 Bioactive Glasses

Abstract

Three dimensionally ordered macroporous bioactive glasses (3DOM-BGs), namely 80SiO₂-15CaO-5P₂O₅, were synthesized by sol-gel method. PMMA colloidal crystals and non-ionic block copolymers P123 were used as cotemplates. The amorphous 3DOM-BGs had skeletal walls enclosing macropores. Such structure resulted from octahedral and tetrahedral holes of the face-centered cubic (fcc) closest packed PMMA templates and windows interconnecting through macropores network. The thicknesses of the walls were around 50 nm – 80 nm and the windows were 90 nm – 110 nm in diameter. These wall thickness is increased by with an increase in ageing time up to 24 h and  then gradually reduced with further increase in aging time. Vibration bands of Si–O–Si and P–O were evident in infrared spectra which are in agreement with EDS spectra indicating Si, P and Ca compositions. After in vitro bioactivity testing by soaking 3DOM-BGs in simulated body fluid at 37 °C, the crystallization of amorphous calcium phosphate layers compatible to the bone component of hydroxyl carbonate apatite were rapidly formed within 3 h. These results indicated that these 3DOM-BGs resembled ideal bone implant materials.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.1.4755