Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal)

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Fabrication of biomaterials with ability to form a bond with bone tissue for bone skeletal system repair is one of the biomaterial science aims. Bioactive glasses containing CaO-SiO2-P2O5 are among the most important groups used in biomedicine and dentistry such as bone defect repair and maxillo-facial reconstruction. The aim of this work was preparation and characterization of nano particle bioactive glass with optimum bioactivity. Bioactive glasses with three different compositions (45S, 49S and 58S) were prepared via sol- gel technique. X- ray diffraction (XRD) technique and X- ray fluorescent (XRF) method were utilized for the phase analysis and also to investigate the chemical composition of the obtained bioactive glass nanopowders. Transmision electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to study the structure, morphology and particle size of synthesized bioactive glass nanopowders. In order to investigate the bioactivity, the prepared bioactive glasses were immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) solution at 37◦C for 30 days. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to recognize and confirm the apatite layer on the prepared bioactive glass nanopowders. TEM images showed that the prepared bioactive glasses had the particle sizes less than 100 nanometers. SEM, FTIR and XRD confirmed the formation of bone-like apatite layer formed on the bioactive glass nanopowders surface, confirming the bioactivity of synthesized bioactive glass nanopowders. It was concluded that the amount of apatite on the 45S bioactive glasse was greater in comparison with 49S and 58S bioactive glasses. It is notable that by optimizing the chemical composition, bioactive glass nanopowder could be used in applications such as repair of bone defects and bone replacement.

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In the present study, a bioceramic-based composite with remarkable mechanical properties and in vitro apatite forming ability was synthesized by sintering compacts made up of mixtures of hydroxyapatite (HA) and sol-gel derived bioactive glass (64SiO2-26CaO-5MgO-5ZnO) (based on mole %). HA was synthesized through co-precipitation method. The stabilization temperature of the bioactive glass was set to be 700 ºC according to simultaneous thermal analysis (STA). Laser Particle Size Analysis (LPSA) was used to compare the particle size distributions of the synthetic powders. HA matrix was mixed with different weight percentages of bioactive glass (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 wt. %) and compressed by 80 MPa pressure. After sintering the uniaxial compression test of the samples was done and the specimen with the highest compressive strength (20 wt. % bioactive glass) was selected to be immersed in the Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) for 3, 7 and 14 days. The results showed that the compressive strength of the sample decreased after keeping it in the SBF. Also, inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP) was used to study the ion release behavior of the sample in the SBF. Finally, phase composition, microstructure and functional groups in the composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, respectively.

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Despite excellent bioactivity of bioactive ceramics such as hydroxyapatite, their clinical applications have been limited due to their poor mechanical properties. Using composite coatings with improved mechanical properties could be a solution to this problem. Therefore, the strength of metal substrate and the bioactivity of the improved composite coating combined could yield suitable results. The aim of this work was fabrication and characterization of hydroxyapatite-forsterite-bioactive glass nanocomposite coating. The sol-gel technique was used to prepare hydroxyapatite-forsterite-bioactive glass nanocomposite in order to coat on 316L stainless steel (SS) by deep coating technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) techniques were used to investigate the microstructure and morphology of the prepared coating. The results obtained from XRD analysis showed that the suitable temperature for calcination is 600 °C. At this temperature, the homogenous and crack-free coating could attach to the 316L SS substrate. The crystallite size of composite coatings determined via AFM was lower than 100 nm. Overall, the results obtained from this work indicate that hydroxyapatite-forsterite-bioactive glass nanocomposite coating can be a good candidate for biomedical applications.

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In this study, NBG was successfully achieved through a sol-gel technique, and to further improve its dispersibility, a crylate coupling agent was coupled onto the surface of the NBG. The 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)Propylmethacrylate coupling agent was used to the surface modification of the synthesized NBG by a wet-chemical method in a dynamic inert nitrogen atmosphere. The surface properties of the biomaterials before and after modification were characterized and compared using FTIR and AFM techniques. The characteristic peaks in FTIR spectra indicated that –CH2, –CH3 and C=O groups appeared on the surface of modified NBG, and also, AFM analysis revealed that the dispersibility of surface modified NBG was improved, significantly. The above results proved that the desired groups of 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)Propyl methacrylate had been covalently bonded onto the surface of NBG. Besides, a nanocomposite scaffold was synthesized using the synthesized NBG and polyurethane foam as raw materials. The morphology of pores, porosity contents, compress strength and bioactivity of the scaffold were studied. The results showed that the biological scaffolds for use in bone tissue engineering with the basic requirements (90% porosity and 200-600 μm pore diameter) were successfully prepared. The polymer component had no effect on the relationship between the scaffold pores and bioactivity of bioglass nanoparticles. Improvement of compressive strength and proper bioactivity of the resulted scaffold showed that it is an acceptable candidate for biomaterials applications.

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The aim of this study was to fabricate carbon nanotube (CNT) and bioactive glass nanoparticles (BG) (at levels of
5 and 10 wt%) incorporated electrospun chitosan (CS)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers for potential neural tissue engineering applications.The morphology, structure, and mechanical properties of the formed electrospun fibrous mats were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical testing, respectively. In vitro cell culture of embryonal carcinoma stem cells (P19) were seeded onto the electrospun scaffolds. The results showed that the incorporation of CNTs and BG nanoparticles did not appreciably affect the morphology of the CS/PVA nanofibers. The maximum tensile strength (7.9 MPa) was observed in the composite sample with 5 %wt bioactive glass nanoparticles. The results suggest that BG and CNT-incorporated CS/PVA nanofibrous scaffolds with small diameters, high porosity, and promoted mechanical properties can potentially provide many possibilities for applications in the fields of neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

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Ternary (%mol) (64SiO₂-31CaO-5P₂O₅) system of sol-gel derived bioactive glass fibers was prepared by electrospinning method. X-ray Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption test (BET) analyses were performed to investigate the phase and chemical group of the composition, morphology of the surface and specific surface area of the fibers, respectively. SEM observations confirmed that the fibers were nano size. The amorphous nature and the presence of silanol groups in the composition were confirmed by XRD and FTIR, respectively. Apatite formation and biodegradability of the fibers were studied using various analyses after different days of soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF). The results affirmed the presence of apatite layers on the surface of the fibers. Cell culture evaluation indicated that MG-64 human osteoblast-like cells were attached and spread well on the surface. Furthermore, cell viability and cell growth demonstrated that the cells were grown and reproduced well on the fibers.