Synthesis and bioactive properties of macroporous nanoscale SiO2-CaO-P2O5 bioactive glass

A macroporous nanoscale bulk bioactive glass (SiO2-CaO-P2O5 system) was prepared by sol-gel co-template method. Porosimeter analysis showed that the as-synthesized bioactive glasses (BGs) had a porosity of 85% and exhibited a multimodal pore size distribution, nanopores (10-40nm) and macropores (100 nm-10 mu m). Morphological and structural characterizations showed the pores were interconnected with pore walls of about 250 nm in width and I mu m in length. In vitro bioactivity test indicated that the as-synthesized bulk BGs exhibited faster apatite layer formation capability than the conventional sol-gel BGs. Additionally, the deposited layer was identified as hydroxycarbonate apatite, which is similar to the inorganic part of human bone. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.