45S5 Bioglass®-based compositions containing alumina and strontium
ARAUJO M. 1, BARTOLOMÉ J. 2, MELLO-CASTANHO S. 1
1 IPEN - Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares, São Paulo, Brazil; 2 Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Madrid, Spain
Bioactive glasses are one of the pioneering material for biomedical applications and have been widely used for orthopedic and dental implant surfaces. However, their limited mechanical strength, low toughness, and wear resistance, as well as a high tendency to crystallize, have prevented their use as load bearing devices or that need to undergo thermal treatment during its production. In view of reduce its drawbacks the present research was conducted by modifying the 45S5 with Al2O3 and SrO. Changes of medium-range structures were characterized by Qn distribution of Raman spectroscopy and evaluation of 31P, 27Al, 23Na and 29Si environment obtained by Magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR). Despite Qn distribution was predominantly Q2 in all samples the composition criteria used enabled improved processing and stabilibity characteristics. The addition of Al2O3 and SrO promoted larger sinterability parameter (Sc) and the processing window enlarged compared to 45S5. Considering changes in mechanical behavior the bending strength increased by 60% and toughness doubled. Also, the wear resistance obtained against steel was found to be three times higher than 45S5. Moreover, all the compositions studied were considered non-cytotoxic by the neutral red uptake methodology. For the aforementioned reasons, the use of these new bioactive glasses might be a promising solution for the reconstruction of bone defects.