Structural characterization and bioactivity (in vitro) of synthesized cu-doped sol-gel glass 60S

Great interest in different types of bioactive glass (BG) is due to high bioactivity, angiogenic, osteogenic properties. In this regard, the development of metal-alloyed BG as a material for bone tissue regeneration is attracting the attention of the scientific community. With this motivation, this study is focused on the investigation of the structure and bioactivity in vitro of copper-doped bioactive glass 60S. Nanostructured samples of 60S glass with a composition (mol %) of 60 % SiO2, 36 – x % CaO, 4 % P2O5 doped Cu (x = 0.25, 0.5 mol %) were synthesized by the sol-gel method in this research. The bioactivity of the synthesized material was evaluated by in vitro assays. The dynamics of the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA), contributing to the formation of effective connections with bones and soft tissues during immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF Kokubo), was evaluated using FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX and ICP-AES. It has been found that BG samples with a higher content of an alloying element (a sample with 0.5 mol. % Cu) are more prone to hydrolysis, which leads to a higher activity of ion exchange processes involving the ionic components of SBF. In addition, the formation of weakly crystalline HA and the calcite phase upon contact with SBF is characteristic of both samples which confirms the bioactivity of the synthesized samples in vitro. The presented results are important for further development and research of BG doped with Cu as a promising material with osteoproductive, osteoconductive and antibacterial properties for tissue regeneration and tissue engineering.