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Porous bioactive glass-ceramics based on the 45S5 Bioglass â composition were fabricated by an acid-catalyzed sol-gel method. The effects of aging time and temperature on the structure and in vitro bioactivity were investigated. Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was carried out on the samples to understand the structure and to monitor the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). The bioactivity of gel-derived 45S5 glass-ceramic and amorphous 45S5 Bioglass â was compared. The results showed that an increase in both aging time and temperature can enhance crystallization, whereas bioactivity is reduced with increasing aging time but not significantly influenced by aging temperature. Compared with amorphous 45S5 Bioglass â , gelderived glass-ceramic aged for 3 d at 60°C exhibited a more rapid rate of HA formation after immersion for less than 7 d. Amorphous 45S5 Bioglass â showed higher HA formation rate after immersion in SBF for more than 7 d, whereas the quantity of formed HA on gel-derived 45S5 glass-ceramic was still comparable to that of amorphous 45S5 Bioglass â after immersion for 14 d. It is suggested that the lower bioactivity of 45S5 glass-ceramics could be outweighed by the higher surface area and higher content of Si-NBO groups in gel-derived glassceramics. The results thus confirm that gel-derived 45S5 glassceramic exhibiting bioactivity comparable to that of amorphous 45S5 Bioglass â can be fabricated by sol-gel method under suitable aging conditions. S. Bose-contributing editor Manuscript No. 34704.

Fluid mediated interactions play a significant role in the bioactivity of calcium phosphates. Ionic exchange is amplified in the case of biomimetic hydroxyapatite, which makes the in vitro characterisation of cell-material interactions especially challenging. The present work proposes a novel and simple strategy to explore the mechanisms of interaction of biomimetic and sintered calcium phosphates with mesenchymal stem cells. The effects of topography and ion exchange are analysed separately by modifying the volume ratio between cell culture medium and biomaterial. High ionic fluctuations interfered in the maturation of focal adhesions, hampering cell adhesion and leading to increased apoptosis and reduced proliferation rate.

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The success of tissue engineering is dependent on rapid scaffold vascularization after engraftment. Copper ions are well known to be angiogenic but exhibit cytotoxicity at elevated doses. The high sensitivity to copper concentration underlines the need of a controlled release mechanism. This study investigated the effect of copper ions released from phosphate-based glasses (PGs) on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under standard growth conditions (SGC), as well as in a reduced nutrient environment (RNE) with decreased bovine serum and growth factor concentrations to approximate conditions in the core of large volume scaffolds where nutrient diffusion is limited. Initially, HUVECs were exposed to a range of CuCl(2) concentrations in order to identify an optimal response in terms of their metabolism, viability, and apoptotic activity. Under SGC, HUVEC metabolic activity and viability were reduced in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of 0.44-12 ppm Cu(2+). In contrast, HUVEC death induced by the RNE was delayed by an optimal dose of 4 ppm Cu(2+), which was associated with a down-regulation of apoptosis as evidenced by caspase-3/7 activity. Copper ion release from soluble PGs of the formulation 50P(2)O(5)-30CaO-(20-x)Na(2)O-xCuO [mol%] (x=0, 1, 5 and 10) demonstrated a controllable increase with CuO content. The presence of 4 ppm copper ions released from the 10% CuO PG composition reproduced the delay in HUVEC death in the RNE, suggesting the potential of these materials to extend survival of transplanted endothelial cells in large volume scaffolds.

Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics are extensively used for bone regeneration; however, their clinical performance is still considered inferior to that of patient's own bone. To improve the performance of CaP bone graft substitutes, it is important to understand the effects of their individual properties on a biological response. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the crystal phase and particle morphology on the behavior of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs). To study the effect of the crystal phase, brushite, monetite, and octacalcium phosphate (OCP) are produced by controlling the precipitation conditions. Brushite and monetite are produced as plate-shaped and as needle-shaped particles, to further investigate the effect of particle morphology. Proliferation of hMSCs is inhibited on OCP as compared to brushite and monetite in either morphology. Brushite needles consistently show the lowest expression of most osteogenic markers, whereas the expression on OCP is in general high. There is a trend toward a higher expression of the osteogenic markers on plate-shaped than on needle-shaped particles for both brushite and monetite. Within the limits of CaP precipitation, these data indicate the effect of both crystal phase and particle morphology of CaPs on the behavior of hMSCs.

Over the last years a new type of tubular plug flow reactor, the segmented flow tubular reactor (SFTR), has proven its versatility and robustness through the water-based synthesis of precipitates as varied as CaCO3, BaTiO3, Mn(1−x)NixC2O4·2H2O, YBa oxalates, copper oxalate, ZnS, ZnO, iron oxides, and TiO2 produced with a high powder quality (phase composition, particle size, and shape) and high reproducibility. The SFTR has been developed to overcome the classical problems of powder production scale-up from batch processes, which are mainly linked with mass and heat transfer. Recently, the SFTR concept has been further developed and applied for the synthesis of metals, metal oxides, and salts in form of nano-or micro-particles in organic solvents. This has been done by increasing the working temperature and modifying the particle carrying solvent. In this paper we summarize the experimental results for four materials prepared according to the polyol synthesis route combined with the SFTR. CeO2, Ni, Ag, and Ca3(PO4)2 nanoparticles (NPs) OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2015, 20 10567 can be obtained with a production rate of about 1-10 g per h. The production was carried out for several hours with constant product quality. These findings further corroborate the reliability and versatility of the SFTR for high throughput powder production.