Sol-gel derived bioactive glass scaffolds incorporated with polyvinyl-alcohol and pluronic P123 polymers using sponge replication technique

Abstract

Abstract Bioactive glasses (BG) such as 45S5 Bioglass® is one of the most promising scaffold material in bone tissue engineering due to its inherent properties. In this study, 45S5 sol-gel derived bioactive glass scaffolds were fabricated using polymeric sponge replication techniques with the addition of polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) as binder, and non-ionic block polymer P123 (PEG-PPG-PEG) as co-templates to increase the porosity. The fabricated scaffolds, namely 45S5-PVA (20/80 wt%), 45S5-P123 (20/80 wt%) and 45S5-Mix (20/70/10 wt%) were compared. The scaffolds were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), compression test, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the fabricated scaffolds exhibited interconnected pore system with dense strut structure. The pores size (in diameter) for all scaffolds were within ideal range and resembling trabecular bone architecture. Interestingly, the addition of polyvinylic binder and pluronic P123 co-template in 45S5-Mix scaffold produced better pore network architecture and increased its compression strength compared to other fabricated scaffolds hence was chosen for further analysis of bioactivity in simulated body fluid (SBF). After immersion in SBF at designated time points: day 3, day 7 and day 14, the formation hydroxyl carbonate apatite (HCA) structure was observed on the scaffold’s surface indicating the bioactivity ability of the sample hence stand as suitable candidate for tissue engineering application.