Three-dimensional printing of porous load-bearing bioceramic scaffolds

This article reports on the use of the binder jetting three-dimensional printing process combined with sintering to process bioceramic materials to form micro- and macroporous three-dimensional structures. Three different glass-ceramic formulations, apatite–wollastonite and two silicate-based glasses, have been processed using this route to create porous structures which have Young’s modulus equivalent to cortical bone and average bending strengths in the range 24–36 MPa. It is demonstrated that a range of macroporous geometries can be created with accuracies of ±0.25 mm over length scales up to 40 mm. Hot-stage microscopy is a valuable tool in the definition of processing parameters for the sintering step of the process. Overall, it is concluded that binder jetting followed by sintering offers a versatile process for the manufacture of load-bearing bioceramic components for bone replacement applications

Polymer Coated Bioactive Glass Foams For Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

, Syntactic and Composites Foams conference, Davos, Switzerland, August 200

Fabrication and characterisation of Bioglass®-based glass-ceramic foam scaffolds for tissue engineering

International Glass Congress, Strassburg, July 200

Surface activation of a ferrimagnetic glass-ceramic for antineoplastic drugs grafting

A ferrimagnetic glass\u2013ceramic, belonging to the system SiO2\u2013Na2O\u2013CaO\u2013P2O5\u2013FeO\u2013Fe2O3, has been studied as potential carrier for antineoplastic agents, in order to exploit the combination of hyperthermia and chemotherapy. Different material pre-treatments, such as ultrasonic washing, water, or simulated body fluid dipping, were evaluated to promote the surface activation of the glass\u2013ceramic, i.e., the hydroxyl groups formation on it. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectrometry, and wettability measurements were performed to observe the samples surface modification. The best results in terms of free hydroxyl groups exposition were obtained by dipping the samples in distilled water for 7 days at 37\u2009\ub0C. Two different anticancer drugs were selected in order to test the reactivity of the activated surface: cisplatinum and doxorubicin. The uptake and release of doxorubicin and cisplatinum were evaluated on glass\u2013ceramic powders, by using UV\u2013Visible spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. After 1 day of uptake at 37\u2009\ub0C, the quantity of doxorubicin incorporated into the glass\u2013ceramic is 77\u2009\ub1\u20097 wt%, while only 42\u2009\ub1\u20099.6 wt% of cisplatinum is grafted onto the material surface. For both antitumoral agents, the maximum drug release after soaking in aqueous solutions at 37\u2009\ub0C was obtained in few hours, with a randomly distributed kinetics trend