Fabrication, Characterization and Process Parameters Optimization of Electrospun 58S Bioactive Glass Submicron Fibers

Over the past decades, bioactive glass (BG) has been of a great interest in the bone regeneration field, due to its excellent biocompatibility, bioactivity and osteoconductivity. Herein, fabrication of bioactive glass as one-dimensional fibers by employing an Electrospinning process is reported. The Sol-Gel method was chosen considering the final fibers smoothness and homogeneity. Starting sol was prepared by mixing Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), Triethyl phosphate (TEP) and Calcium Nitrate Tetrahydrate as precursors in an adequate solvent. Fibers were obtained via electrospinning the mixture of different ratios of BG and polymer solutions. Biocompatible Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was used in order to investigate the polymer effect. Furthermore, electrospinning parameters such as voltage and working distance were examined. Following the heat treatment and depolymerization, X-ray diffractometery (XRD) was done. Besides, fibers morphology before and after calcination was observed in detail employing Optical Microscopy (OM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). XRD patterns revealed the presence of bioactive glass. Results indicated that the fibers diameter and homogeneity were reduced after calcination showing an intensification as polymer increased.