Functionalization and bioactivity in vitro of mesoporous bioactive glasses

Amino and carboxylic groups functionalized mesoporous bioactive glasses (denoted as N-MBGs and C-MBGs, respectively) were successfully synthesized through a post-grafting process and characterized by XRD, N₂ sorption, TEM, FT-IR and TG techniques. Their in vitro bioactivity and degradation behavior were investigated in simulated body fluid and examined by various techniques. The results demonstrate that the bioactivity of all the samples and the morphology of carbonated hydroxyapatite were affected remarkably by the introduction of functional groups. Spherical carbonated hydroxyapatite particles were observed grown on the N-MBGs surfaces after soaking in simulated body fluid for 8 h, which is different from the rod-like carbonated hydroxyapatite grown on conventional mesoporous bioactive glasses. While for C-MBGs, the nucleation and growth rate of carbonated hydroxyapatite was decreased at increased contents of carboxylic groups.