Bioactive glass and glass-ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Melt-derived bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics are class A bioactive materials, exhibiting surface bioreactivity in contact with physiological fluids, making them significant in developing bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds. Their biological performance relates to the effect of released ionic dissolution products on osteogenesis and angiogenesis. This chapter discusses the fabrication of three-dimensional, highly porous bioactive glass scaffolds for BTE using the foam replica technique, considering two types of scaffolds in detail: BTE scaffolds fabricated from boron-containing bioactive glass and polymer coated scaffolds of enhanced mechanical behavior, adequate bioactivity and potential drug delivery capability. The presence of a polymer coating leads to significant toughening, and the polymer phase can be used to act as a carrier for biomolecules, growth factors and antibiotics. Optimization of BTE scaffolds is key to the advancement of BTE, and the utilization of bioactive glasses as suitable vehicles for the controlled release of certain metallic ions, which stimulate specific cellular responses, is highlighted as important for future research. New compositions of silicate bioactive glasses incorporating determined therapeutic ions, combined with biopolymers, will become significant in BTE as materials of choice for scaffold developments.