A feasibility study of egg shell-derived porous glass-ceramic orbital implants

A permanent orbital implant is highly required to support ocular tissues after surgical removal of patient's eye during an ocular disease treatment. We therefore study the feasibility to use egg shell waste for producing biomedical porous glass-ceramic orbital implants. A biocompatible porous glass-ceramic implants were prepared from egg shell-based calcium-silicate glasses by foam replication method. The egg shell-derived glass-ceramic implants obtained a pure biocompatible CaSiO3 phase at 1100 degrees C. In comparison to the glass-ceramic implants from a commercial CaCO3, the egg shell-derived glass-ceramic implants contained an open-macropore network with porosity over 30% allowing the fibrovascular tissue ingrowth. The glass-ceramic implants derived from egg shells had good chemical stability in simulated body fluids (2-weeks in vitro test). Therefore, this new porous glass-ceramic material is a promising alternative low-cost biomedical implant for ocular prosthesis applications. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.