Fascinating properties of bioactive templated glasses: A new generation of nanostructured bioceramics

This review article, dedicated to Prof. Osamu Terasaki, is focused on current trends in nanostructured bioceramics in the field of bone repair and regeneration. This communication overviews the main characteristics of so called templated glasses recently described which exhibit an outstanding bioactive behavior compared with conventional bioactive glasses. A deep study regarding the control of textural, structural and compositional properties in the nanometric scale in relation to the charming bioactivity properties described for these nanostructured materials is herein discussed. The possibility to tailor such properties offers a wide range of reactivity/bioactivity depending on the medical application requested. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.