Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO(MgO)-CaO-SiO2-P2O5 Bioglass Obtained by Sol-Gel Method in Presence of Surfactant Agent

Cristina-Daniela Ghiţulică; Andrada-Ioana Damian-Buda; Andreia Cucuruz; Georgeta Voicu

doi:10.3390/gels7040187

Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO(MgO)-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ Bioglass Obtained by Sol-Gel Method in Presence of Surfactant Agent

Gels. 2021 Oct 29;7(4):187. doi: 10.3390/gels7040187.

Authors

Cristina-Daniela Ghiţulică¹, Andrada-Ioana Damian-Buda², Andreia Cucuruz², Georgeta Voicu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
² Department of Biomaterials and Medical Devices, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

Bioglass (BG) is a class of biomaterials increasingly approached in biomedical applications, such as in regeneration of hard tissues, due to the properties of bioactivity, osteoinductivity, osteoconductivity, but also the high rate of biodegradation, both in vitro and in vivo. The present paper addresses the obtaining of bioglasses from the ZnO(MgO)-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ system by the sol-gel method and the use of a surfactant to ensure a specific surface or high open porosity, starting from S53P4 bioglass (53% SiO₂, 23% Na₂O, 20% CaO, 4% P₂O₅), also known as BoneAlive^®. The precursor powders were analyzed from the phase composition point of view by complex thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction, the vitreous powders were assessed from the compositional point of view by X-ray diffraction, morpho-structural by scanning electron microscopy, specific surface area and the pore size dimension by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, dispersion by laser granulometry, and also cell biology and surface mineralization tests were performed by immersion in SBF (simulated body fluid). The system proposed in this paper ZnO(MgO)-CaO-SiO₂-P₂O₅ was successfully obtained by sol-gel method. The results showed the higher interaction between the samples and the SBF medium for samples containing magnesium (M2) and the lowest degree of mineralization after immersion in SBF was noticed for samples containing zinc (M1). The results also prove that by incorporating different ionic species in bioglass composition-Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties will be significantly enhanced.

Keywords: antibacterial activity; bioactivity; bioglass; pore size distribution; sol-gel.