Effect of Sol-Gel Ageing Time on Three Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Structure of 80SiO2-15CaO-5P2O5 Bioactive Glasses

<p>Three dimensionally ordered macroporous bioactive glasses (3DOM-BGs), namely 80SiO₂-15CaO-5P₂O₅, were synthesized by sol-gel method. PMMA colloidal crystals and non-ionic block copolymers P123 were used as cotemplates. The amorphous 3DOM-BGs had skeletal walls enclosing macropores. Such structure resulted from octahedral and tetrahedral holes of the face-centered cubic (<em>fcc</em>) closest packed PMMA templates and windows interconnecting through macropores network. The thicknesses of the walls were around 50 nm–80 nm and the windows were 90 nm–110 nm in diameter. These wall thickness is increased by with an increase in ageing time up to 24 h and  then gradually reduced with further increase in aging time.<strong> </strong>Vibration bands of Si–O–Si and P–O were evident in infrared spectra which are in agreement with EDS spectra indicating Si, P and Ca compositions. After <em>in vitro</em> bioactivity testing by soaking 3DOM-BGs in simulated body fluid at 37°C, the crystallization of amorphous calcium phosphate layers compatible to the bone component of hydroxyl carbonate apatite were rapidly formed within 3 h. These results indicated that these 3DOM-BGs resembled ideal bone implant materials.</p><p>DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.1.4755">http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.1.4755</a></p