PNNL

Abstract

Glass–ceramics in the diopside (CaMgSi2O6) – fluorapatite [Ca5(PO4)3F] system are potential candidates for restorative dental and bone implant materials. In the present study, a series of glasses along diopside – fluorapatite binary system have been prepared with varying diopside/fluorapatite ratios for their potential applications in bone tissue engineering. The glasses were obtained from compositions with fluorapatite contents varying between 0-40 wt.%. The sintering ability and crystallization kinetics of as obtained amorphous glasses have been studied through hot-stage microscopy (HSM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), respectively while crystalline phase evolution in sintered GCs has been followed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) adjoined with Rietveld-R.I.R. technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further, biodegradation and apatite forming ability of glass-ceramics were investigated by immersion of glass-ceramic discs in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution while chemical degradation and weight loss of glass-ceramics were studied by immersion in Tris-HCl in accordance with standard ISO 10993-14. The addition of fluorapatite (10 – 25 wt.%) in diopside glass system significantly enhanced the sintering ability of glass-ceramics and improved their apatite forming ability along with their biodegradation behaviour. Moreover, the in vitro cellular responses to glass-ceramics showed good cell viability and significant stimulation of osteoblastic differentiation, suggesting the possible use of the glass-ceramics for bone regeneration.