This study was conducted to develop novel ceramic bone substitute that resembles the autologous bone behavior when used as graft material. Solid-state reaction at 1100°C was performed to synthesize β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP). The ceramics were further analyzed to characterize phase composition, microstructural properties, cytocompatability and then chall...

An overview of microspheres manufactured for use in biomedical applications based on recent literature is presented in this review. Different types of glasses (i.e. silicate, borate, and phosphates), ceramics and polymer-based microspheres (both natural and synthetic) in the form of porous , non-porous and hollow structures that are either already in use or are currently being investigated with...

This article reviews recent ­ ndings on internal and surface nucleation in silicate glasses. The internal homogeneous nucleation rates sharply decrease and the induction times increase with the Tg=TL ratio (Tg is the glass-transition temperature and TL is the liquidus temperature). Only systems that have Tg=TL < 0:58 display measurable internal nucleation rates on a laboratory time-scale. Numer...

Since hydroxyapatite has excellent biocompatibility and bone bonding ability, porous hydroxyapatite ceramics have been intensively studied. However, porous hydroxyapatite bodies are mechanically weak and brittle, which makes shaping and implantation difficult. One way to solve this problem is to introduce a strong porous network onto which hydroxyapatite coating is applied. In this study, porou...

An initial study of the minor element, trace element, and impurities in Corning archeological references glasses have been performed using three microbeam techniques: electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), laser ablation ICP-mass spectrometry (LA ICP-MS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The EPMA results suggest a significant level of heterogeneity for a number of metals. Conversely, h...

Highly porous bioactive glass-ceramic scaffolds were effectively fabricated by an inorganic gel casting technique, based on alkali activation and gelification, followed by viscous flow sintering. Glass powders, already known to yield a bioactive sintered glass-ceramic (CEL2) were dispersed in an alkaline solution, with partial dissolution of glass powders. The obtained glass suspensions underwe...

A phenomenon of fireball ejection from hot spots in solid materials (silicon, germanium, glass, ceramics, basalt, etc.) to the atmosphere is presented. The hot spot is created in the substrate material by the microwave-drill mechanism [Jerby, Science 298, 587 (2002)10.1126/science.1077062]. The vaporized drop evolved from the hot spot is blown up, and forms a stable fireball buoyant in the air....

Current materials used for bone regeneration are usually bioactive ceramics or glasses. Although they bond to bone, they are brittle. There is a need for new materials that can combine bioactivity with toughness and controlled biodegradation. Sol-gel hybrids have the potential to do this through their nanoscale interpenetrating networks (IPN) of inorganic and organic components. Poly(γ-glutamic...

An overview of the formation of calcium phosphate under in vitro environment on the surface of a range of bioactive materials (e.g. from silicate, borate, and phosphate glasses, glass-ceramics, bioceramics to metals) based on recent literature is presented in this review. The mechanism of bone-like calcium phosphate (i.e. hydroxyapatite) formation and the test protocols that are either already ...