Synthesis and characterization of a new family of sol-gel derived bioactive glasses

 

Investigator: Kilian Tscharke (Master student) 

Kilian Tscharke

 

Supervisors: Qaisar Nawaz, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini


Bioactive glasses (BGs) have the ability to form a bond with the bone through bioreactions and biomineralization at their surface, leading to the formation of an apatite surface layer which makes BGs promising materials in the context of bone tissue engineering [1]. This Bachelor thesis will focus on the synthesis of a new group of sol-gel derived bioactive glasses with various compositions, e.g. incorporating Mn [2] among other biologically active ions. The synthesized glasses will be characterized in terms of structure, morphology and thermal behavior. The novel BGs will be used to form scaffolds via foam replication method [3] and these scaffolds will be also be characterized in terms of morphology and in vitro mineralization.

[1] Gerhardt LC, Boccaccini AR, Bioactive Glass and Glass-Ceramic Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering,   doi: 10.3390/ma3073867

[2] Nawaz Q, et al., Synthesis and characterization of manganese containing mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles for biomedical applications, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Med. 2018; 29:64.

[3] Chen QZ, Thompson ID, Boccaccini AR, 45S5 Bioglass -derived glass-ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering,  doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.11.025 .