Synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid composite and its thermal conversion to porous bioactive glass monolith

We report the synthesis and bioactivity studies of 3-dimensional macro-porous material produced by thermal treatment of organic-inorganic hybrid composite. This is prepared by sol-gel processing of co-poly(methylmethacrylate (MMA)-vinyltriethoxysilane (VTS)) with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), calcium nitrate and zinc nitrate, ([CH2C(CH3)(CO2CH3)](0.8n)-[CH2-CH(Si(OEt)(3)](0.2n)-SiO2-CaO-ZnO) (1). Thermal treatment of this polymer at 600 degrees C yielded macro-porous bioglass monolith, with pore size distribution between 1 and 5 mu m and showed excellent bone bonding ability in simulated body fluid. The ratio of VTS:MMA in the organic polymer can easily be controlled. Since the VTS is the bonding agent, the amount of VTS in the co-polymer can be utilized to increase or decrease the porosity of the hybrid composite. This may be a convenient approach for preparation of bioglass scaffolds especially in tissue engineering of bone. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.