Synthesis and in vitro bioactivity of novel mesoporous hollow bioactive glass microspheres

The remarkable tissue-repairing bioactivity and biocompatibility of bioactive glass make it suitable for a wide range of applications. Here, novel mesoporous hollow bioactive glass microspheres (MHBGMs) with a uniform diameter range of 2-5 mu m were prepared by a sol-gel method. Structural characterization indicated that the shell of hollow sphere had a mesopore size range between 2 and 10 nm and a thickness about 500 nm. The in vitro bioactivity test indicated that the novel structure exhibited high in vitro bioactivity. The uniform microspherical morphology and mesoporous hollow structure of MHBGMs. together with their high bioactivity, turn them into a good candidate as an injectable and drug-loading biomaterial for in vivo tissue regeneration and drug control release. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.