The role of MgO on thermal properties,structure and bioactivity of bioactive glass coating for dental implants

The successful application of bioactive glasses as a coating for titanium implants to improve osseointegration is dependent on achieving a thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) match between the two phases. Many studies have indicated that magnesium affects the thermal and structural properties of a glass. However, its effect on bioactivity of bioactive glasses is still under debate. In this study, we characterize the effect of magnesium on the thermal properties, structure and bioactivity of glasses containing MgO. Seven glasses with different MgO concentrations have been synthesized by melt-derived technique. All these glasses contain SiO₂, CaO, MgO, ZnO, Na₂O, K₂O and P₂O₅ and have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calirometry (DSC) and dilatometry. Additionally, the oxygen density and bulk density have been investigated. The bioactivity of the MgO glass series was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF) and Tris-buffer solution. The results indicate that magnesium suppresses crystallization and decreases TEC, glass transition temperature (T_g) and softening (T_s) temperature. Oxygen density increases proportionally with MgO content; whereas glass density decreases. After different time points, XRD and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) show that magnesium does not inhibit the apatite forming ability of the glasses, but retards the time of apatite deposition. The glass coatings of this series exhibit clear clinical application for use as a functional barrier: osteoblastic attachment and growth was poor, however, fibroblastic biocompatibility was good.     

Preparation,in vitro bioactivity and drug release property of well-ordered mesoporous 58S bioactive glass

Bioactive glasses (BG) have proved to be able to chemically bond to living bone due to the formation of an apatite-like layer on its surface. In this paper, well-ordered mesoporous 58S bioactive glass (M58S) was synthesized in aqueous solution by a two-step acid-catalyzed self-assembly process combined with hydrothermal treatment. The drug release behavior of the M58S was investigated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 37.5 °C for 20 days, and the assessment of in vitro bioactivity of M58S powders was carried out in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37.5 °C. The results showed that M58S possessed good drug release behavior due to its well-ordered mesoporous structure, and a higher ability to induce hydroxyapatite formation in SBF. Therefore, well-ordered mesoporous bioactive glasses might be used as a bioactive drug release system for preparation of bone implant materials.     

In vitro changes in the structure of a bioactive calcia–silica sol–gel glass explored using isotopic substitution in neutron diffraction

Bioactive sol–gel derived glass scaffolds bond to bone and their dissolution products stimulate new bone growth in vitro and in vivo; they may therefore be used to regenerate diseased or damaged bone to its original state and function in bone tissue engineering applications. We seek herein to cast light upon these reaction mechanisms by attempting to quantify changes in the atomic-scale structure of the glass scaffold as a result of in vitro reaction with simulated body fluid (SBF). We report the results of a study using neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution (NDIS) to gain new insights into the nature of the atomic scale calcium environment in bioactive sol–gel glasses. This is augmented by high-energy X-ray total diffraction. We have thereby begun to explore the nature of the principal stages to the generation of hydroxyapatite (i.e. the mineral ‘building block’ of bone) on the bioactive glass surface. The data are examined in light of our complementary solid-state NMR and computer modelling studies. The results reveal that the Ca–O environment in an SBF exposed (CaO)_0.3(SiO₂)_0.7 sol–gel glass, which initially comprises three distinct but partially overlapping correlation shells centered at 2.3 Å, 2.5 Å and 2.75 Å, preferentially loses the shortest length correlation. A Ca⋯H correlation appears at 2.95 Å. The surface deposited Ca⋯P environment consists of three partially overlapping, but nonetheless distinct, correlation shells, at 3.15 Å, 3.40 Å and 3.70 Å.     

Influence of morphology on in vitro compatibility of bioactive glasses

In vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of fiber and bulk bioactive glasses were studied. After synthesis with tetraethoxysilane, individual bulk and fiber samples were soaked in a simulated body fluid solution and removed at intervals of 5 and 30 days, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis showed hydroxyapatite characteristic P–O vibrational bands for simulated body fluid soaked fibers and bulk samples. Osteoblast viability and alkaline phosphatase production were evaluated by cell incubation in the presence of samples and compared to controls. Fiber glass-incubated osteoblasts showed lower viability but the same alkaline phosphatase production when compared to bulk sample and controls.     

Role of bromine on the thermal and optical properties of photo-thermo-refractive glass

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a photosensitive silicate glass doped with cerium, silver, and fluorine. The precipitation of a minor crystalline phase after UV-exposure and thermal treatment induces a refractive index change, which is large enough to create diffractive optical elements. In this work we present a first attempt to understand the role of bromine on thermal and optical properties of PTR glass. We reveal that at least 75% of the concentration of bromine of commercial PTR glass is necessary to produce photo-induced crystallization. We also show that an increase of the bromine concentration will increase the mean refractive index of virgin PTR glass. Further thermal treatments induce a decrease of the mean refractive index of PTR glass. This decrease is finally shown to be larger in UV-exposed glass if photo-induced crystallization is present. We also show that bromine concentration will decrease water concentration in PTR glass and have an impact on the losses in visible. We demonstrate that the higher the bromine concentration, the higher the shift of the silver containing particles absorption band. In addition, if bromine concentration is high enough to produce photosensitivity, an increase of scattering due to the crystallization process is observed.     

Influence of UV-exposure on the crystallization and optical properties of photo-thermo-refractive glass

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a photosensitive multi-component silicate glass. Photoinduced crystalline phase precipitation results in refractive index variations in UV exposed areas of PTR glass. The precipitation of silver containing particles which occurs during photo-thermo-refractive process increases the optical absorption of the samples in the range 350 nm to NIR wavelengths and the growth of sodium fluoride crystals and their aggregation increases light scattering in visible and NIR regions. We show that one effect of the UV-exposure is a decrease in the crystallization temperature by ～50 °C compared to the unexposed areas as measured by differential scanning calorimetry, which we attribute to an increase in nucleation rate. Using spectro-photometric measurements, a linear function is fitted to the changes in the amplitude of the absorption band of the silver containing particles versus the UV-dosage. The root mean square scatter of the data from the linear function is better than 0.99 and the slope of the function is 0.32 ± 0.01 cm/J. The IR absorption of PTR sample, measured by laser calorimetry shows that the increase of the absorption in infrared region at 1.1 μm, is due to the tail of the absorption band of silver containing particles having maximum at 465 nm. We finally show that after hyper-development, one effect of UV-exposure at 325 nm on the crystallization kinetics of PTR glasses is a decrease in particle sizes from micron size to nanometers size. But additional investigations demonstrate that smaller dosage UV-exposures (a few tens of milliwatts) increase the optical scattering by one order of magnitude. Optical micrographs taken after UV-exposure and hyper-development reveal the use of smaller dosages enhances nucleation rate without preventing the growth of large crystals and therefore induces higher scattering.     

Influence of the conditions of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of MgO crystals

The effect of cooling conditions after annealing at 1000°C on the mechanical properties of MgO single crystals is studied.     

Influence of chlorine-fluorine substitution on the electrical properties of some fluoride glasses

Study of electrical properties of two series of glasses (ZrF₄)₅₄(BaF₂)₃₀(ThF₄)₅(LaF₃)₃(RbF)_8(1−x)(RbCl)_8x (0 x 1) and (ZrF₄)₅₀(BaF₂)₃₀(ThF₄)₅(LaF₃)₃(RbF)_12(1−x)(RbCl)_12x (0 x 1) demonstrates the existence of a mixed mobile anion effect in these anion-conducting glasses. The effective medium approach has been applied to these materials: a satisfactory fitting is obtained as a function of the Cl/(Cl + F) ratio and temperature; the ionic transport in these glasses takes place along preferential pathways.     

Local surface damage and material dissolution in 45S5 bioactive glass: Effect of the contact deformation

Bioactive glasses react with the human physiological solution in control of their biofunctionality. The stress state in bioactive glasses determines the chemomechanical reaction and their biofunctionality. Using the microindentation technique, the effect of the indentation deformation on the surface damage and material dissolution of 45S5 bioglass was investigated. The indentation-induced local surface damage, including ring cracks and radial cracks, was revealed before and after the immersion tests in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). There existed a critical load for the formation of the radial cracks, which emanated from the periphery of the outmost ring crack. The growth of the radial cracks in the PBS solution displayed the stress-corrosion behavior with the crack-growth speed being a linear function of the indentation load. Fast dissolution occurred at the edges of the surface-damaged zone due to stress-assisted dissolution under the action of local tensile stress, which was different from the dissolution behavior of stress-free 45S5 bioglass.     

Influence of thermal history on the structure and properties of silicate glasses

We studied a set of float glass samples prepared with different fictive temperatures by previous annealing around the glass transition temperature. We compared the results to previous measurements on a series of amorphous silica samples, also prepared with different fictive temperatures. We showed that the modifications on the structure at a local scale are very small, the changes of physical properties are moderate but the changes on density fluctuations at a nanometer scale are rather large: 12% and 20% in float glass and silica, for relative changes of fictive temperature equal to 13% and 25% respectively. Local order and mechanical properties of silica vary in the opposite way compared to float glass (anomalous behavior) but the density fluctuations in both glasses increase with temperature and fictive temperature.     

The influence of CaF2 content on the physical properties and apatite formation of bioactive glass coatings for dental implants

This report details the physical properties, bioactivity and biocompatibility of manufactured glasses containing a range of calcium fluoride (CaF₂) concentrations. Compositions were based on the following system: SiO₂, CaO, Na₂O, K₂O, P₂O₅, ZnO and MgO, and in total seven glasses were synthesized using a melt–quench route. The ratio of the base compounds was kept constant, but had increasing CaF₂ concentrations (0.00, 2.44, 4.77, 9.11, 10.33, 11.53 and 13.00 mol%). Glasses were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dilatometery. Density was quantified according to Archimedes method and apatite formation tested following immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) and Tris-buffer solution. Glass coatings were prepared by enamelling technique using 10 mm in diameter pure titanium disks. XRD demonstrates that all glasses are amorphous and that the sintering window, glass transition and softening temperatures decrease with increasing CaF₂ content. In contrast, thermal expansion coefficient and glass density increase with CaF₂ content. After 1 week immersion in SBF and Tris, XRD and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that the surfaces of all glasses underwent structural changes with evidence of surface apatite formation. Fluoride-electrode analysis indicates that the amount of fluoride released was proportional to the original CaF₂ content. The survival and growth of osteoblasts on the surface of these glasses is consistent with biocompatible characteristics.     

Phase separation and crystallization of borosilicate glass enriched in MoO3, P2O5, ZrO2, CaO

Borosilicate glasses with high molybdenum, phosphorus, calcium and zirconium oxide concentrations are partially crystallized. Their final microstructure reveals the contribution of microphase separation and crystallization phenomena during cooling. Rapid quenching of melts between copper rollers and by air blowing was investigated at various melting temperatures. The microstructure of glass specimens was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with and EDS analyzer. Glass transformation mechanisms during cooling are proposed: initial microphase separation at high temperature probably occurring though a nucleation and growth mechanism, followed by coalescence of the separated droplets.     

Systematic study of spectroscopic properties and thermal stability of lead germanate glass doped with rare-earth ions

Glasses with composition 50GeO₂–(50?x)PbO–5PbF₂–xLnF₃ (Ln = Pr³⁺–Yb³⁺) were prepared from commercial raw materials. The content of PbF₂ was constant and amounted to 5 mol% whereas the concentration of luminescent ions was diverse (0.2 and 2 mol%). Thermal stability of the glasses were monitored by differential thermal analysis (DTA). It has been found that increase of rare-earth fluoride content from 0.2 mol% to 2 mol% brings about a shift of the glass crystallization onset from 450 °C to 487 °C for Nd-doped samples and from 466 °C to 482 °C for Tm-doped samples. Optical absorption and emission spectra of Ln active ions in oxyfluoride glass have been investigated at room temperature in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) region. Oscillator strengths, phenomenological Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters Ω_2,4,6, radiative transition probabilities, branching ratios and radiative lifetimes of luminescent levels have been estimated. Analysis of decay curves of luminescence revealed that the increase of rare-earth fluoride content from 0.2 mol% to 2 mol% shortens the lifetime of the ⁴F_3/2 level of Nd³⁺ from 224 μs to 90 μs.     

Dependence of fluorescence properties on substitution of BaF2 for BaO in barium gallo-germanate glass

3.5 mol%, 6.5 mol%, 9.5 mol%, and 12.5 mol% BaF₂ were gradually substituted for BaO in 0.3 mol% Tm₂O₃ doped 12.5 BaO-12.5 Ga₂O₃-75 GeO₂ (BGG) glasses to study the effect of the substitution on the OH⁻ elimination and emission properties. The FTIR spectral demonstrated that the substitution effectively eliminated OH⁻ groups and 9.5 mol% BaF₂ was enough for the OH⁻ elimination. The J-O parameters of all the samples were calculated according to J-O theory. The calculation showed that the Ω₂ parameter decreased monotonically with BaF₂ content increasing, while Ω₄ and Ω₆ did not change much. The radiative lifetime increased while BaF₂ content increased as well. The emission cross section of ³F₄ → ³H₆ transition was calculated by the F-L formula. However, it decreased with the gradual BaF₂ addition.

Research Highlights

? OH⁻ groups were eliminated by the substitution of BaF₂ for BaO in (BGG) glass. ? The optimal substitution level of BaF₂ was 9.5 mol% for OH⁻ elimination. ? The Ω₂ parameter decreased monotonically by the elimination. ? The emission cross section of ³F₄ → ³H₆ transition was decreased by the substitution.     

The influence of Ag substitution for Cu on glass-forming ability and thermal properties of Mg-based bulk metallic glasses

A group of pseudo-ternary Mg–(Cu–Ag)–Dy bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) was developed by copper mold casting. The glass-forming ability (GFA) is significantly improved by the coexistence of similar elements of Ag and Cu. The critical diameter for glass formation increases from 10 mm for ternary Mg_56.5Cu₃₂Dy_11.5 alloy to 18 mm for pseudo-ternary Mg_56.5Cu₂₇Ag₅Dy_11.5 alloy. Thermal stability, crystallization and melting behaviors of the Mg-based BMGs were evaluated. The decrease of Gibbs free energy difference between undercooled liquid and crystalline phases caused by similar element substitution with optimal amount can be responsible for the increase in GFA of the resulting alloys.     

Effect of strontium substitution on the structure,ionic diffusion and dynamic properties of 45S5 Bioactive glasses

Strontium ions can promote bone growth and enhance bioactivity in bioactive glasses that find critical biomedical applications. In this paper, the effect of SrO/CaO substitution on the structure, ionic diffusion, and dynamic properties of 45S5 bioactive glasses has been studied using constant pressure molecular dynamics simulations with a set of effective partial charge potentials. The simulated structure models were validated by comparing with experimental neutron diffraction results. It was found that the SrO/CaO substitution leads to an increase of glass density and decrease of oxygen density, a measure of compactness of the glass, in excellent agreement with available experimental data. On the other hand, the substitution does not significantly change of the medium range glass structures as characterized by silicon and phosphorous Q_n distributions, network connectivity, and ring size distributions. The diffusion and dynamic behavior of these glasses and their melts were also determined by calculating the mean square displacements and velocity autocorrelation functions. It was found that the diffusion energy barriers of sodium, calcium and strontium ions remain nearly constant with respect to the level of substitution. However, strontium ions do influence the diffusion behaviors of calcium and sodium ions at high temperature, as evidenced from their velocity autocorrelation functions. Like calcium and sodium, strontium ions only contribute to the lower frequency (around 100 cm^? 1) of the vibrational spectra the substitution has little effect on high frequency features and the general shape of the vibrational density of states. These results suggest that the increase of the dissolution rate in strontium containing glasses are mainly due to the increase of free volume and the non-local effect that weakens the silicon-oxygen network due to strontium ions.     

Preparation and the third-order optical nonlinearities of the sodium borosilicate glass doped with Cu7.2S4 quantum dots

The sodium borosilicate glass doped with Cu_7.2S₄ quantum dots was prepared by using both sol–gel and atmosphere control methods. The formation mechanism and the microstructure of the glass were examined using differential thermal analysis and thermal gravimeter (TG-DTA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The results revealed that Cu_7.2S₄ quantum dots in orthorhombic crystal system had formed in the glass, and the size ranged from 9 nm to 21 nm. In addition, Z-scan technique was used to measure the third-order optical nonlinearities of the glass. The results indicated that the third-order optical nonlinear refractive index γ, the absorption coefficient β, and the susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ of the glass were 1.11 × 10^? 15 m²/W, 8.91 × 10^? 9 m/W, and 6.91 × 10^? 10 esu, respectively.     

Influence of europium ions on structure and crystallization properties of bismuth borate glasses and glass ceramics

Glasses of the xEu₂O₃ · (100?x)[2Bi₂O₃ · B₂O₃] system with 0 ? x ? 25 mol% have been characterized by X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy measurements. Melting at 1100 °C and the rapid cooling at room temperature permitted us to obtain glass samples. In order to improve the local order and to develop crystalline phases, the glass samples were kept at 625 °C for 24 h. After heat treatment two crystalline phases were put into evidence. One of the crystalline phases was observed for the host glass matrix, the x = 0 mol% sample, and belongs to the cubic system. The second one was observed for the x = 25 mol% sample and was find to be orthorhombic with two unit cell parameters very close to each other. For the samples with 0 < x < 25 mol% there is a mixture of the two mentioned phases. FTIR spectroscopy data suggest that both Bi₂O₃ and B₂O₃ play the glass network former role while the europium ions play the network modifier role in the studied glasses.     

Influence of the B and P content on the thermal stability and crystallization of cast iron based bulk amorphous alloys

The possibility of synthesizing bulk amorphous alloys with additions of B and P to commercial cast iron (Ci) of the chemical composition Fe_81.5Si_3.8C₁₄Tm_0.7 (at.%) was investigated. The effect of the B and P concentration on thermal stability, bulk glass forming ability (BGFA) and microstructure was studied by calorimetric (DSC and DTA) measurements as well as by X-ray diffraction. With the addition of 8.42 and 12.17 B to the commercial Ci bulk amorphous alloys with very wide supercooled liquid regions (77 and 81 K, respectively) could be produced. The partial replacement of Ci by B and P atoms increases the thermal stability and the BGFA. The kinetics of crystallization was investigated both by linear heating and by isothermal DSC measurements. The changes in the microstructure of the crystalline phases formed during linear heating were studied during further isothermal annealing at 833 K.     

Effect of the substitution of S for Se on the structure and non-linear optical properties of the glasses in the system Ge0.18Ga0.05Sb0.07S0.70−xSex

Glasses in the system Ge–Ga–Sb–S/Se have been elaborated with different S/Se ratios in order to increase the non-linear optical properties of these glasses. We report results of a systematic study examining the relationship of the physical properties to the structure of the glasses in the system Ge_0.18Ga_0.05Sb_0.07S_0.70−xSe_x with x = 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30 and 0.40 where the replacement of S by Se has been made. The non-linear refractive index has been measured using the Z-scan technique, with picosecond pulses emitted by a 10 Hz Q-switched mode-locked Nd-Yag laser at 1064 nm under conditions suitable to characterize ultrafast non-linearities. The decrease of the glass transition temperature, the increase of the non-linear refractive index and of the density with the progressive replacement of S by Se have been correlated along with the red shift of the absorption band gap, to associated structural reorganization. A corresponding progressive decrease of corner-sharing GeS_4/2 and the formation of mostly two edge-sharing Ge₂S₄S_2/2, S₃Ge–S–GeS₃ as well as mixed GeS_4−xSe_x units have been identified by Raman spectroscopy.