Synthesis of copper-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles using a modified Stober method for biomedical applications

Copper (Cu)-containing bioactive glasses (BGs) are attracting attention for bone regeneration and wound healing since they have bone-bonding capability and potential osteogenesis and angiogenesis properties. In this study, highly dispersed and spherical Cu-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles (Cu-BGNs) were successfully synthesized via a modified Stober method. The content of incorporated Cu in the particles could be tailored by adjusting the amount of the added Cu precursor, a procedure that had no significant effects on the morphological and structural characteristics of the nanoparticles. Cu-BGNs exhibited satisfactory apatite-forming ability, as a large quantity of apatite could form on Cu-BGNs pellets after immersion in simulated body fluid for just 3 days. The incorporation of Cu exhibited positive effects on the apatite formation. In addition, both Si and Cu ions were released from the Cu-BGN in a sustained manner for at least 14 days in cell culture medium, indicating the potential of the BGN as promising carriers for delivering therapeutic Cu ions. Moreover, Cu-BGNs showed no significant cytotoxicity towards human mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblast cells at concentrations of 100, 10 and 1 mu g/mL. Taken together, the results suggest that Cu-BGNs are promising nanoparticulate fillers to develop nanocomposites for biomedical applications especially in bone regeneration and wound healing. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.