The aim of this study was to propose and validate a new unified method for testing dissolution rates of bioactive glasses and their variants, and the formation of calcium phosphate layer formation on their surface, which is an indicator of bioactivity. At present, comparison in the literature is difficult as many groups use different testing protocols. An ISO standard covers the use of simulated body fluid on

Infections in orthopaedic surgery are a serious issue. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement was developed for the treatment of infected joint arthroplasties and for prophylaxes in total joint replacement in selected cases. Despite the widespread use of the antibiotic-loaded bone cement in orthopedics, many issues are still unclear or controversial: bacterial adhesion and antibiotic resistance, modification of mechanical properties which follows the addition of the antibiotic, factors influencing the release of the antibiotic from the cement and the role of the surface, the method for mixing the cement and the antibiotic, the choice and the effectiveness of the antibiotic, the combination of two or more antibiotics, and the toxicity. This review discusses all these topics, focusing on properties, merits, and defects of the antibiotic loaded cement. The final objective is to provide the orthopaedic surgeons clear and concise information for the correct choice of cement in their clinical practice.

Sol-gel route has shown its enormous potential in tissue engineering applications as an advantageous method for the production of bioactive glasses aimed at regenerating both hard and soft tissues. This review discusses the chemical aspects of the method with emphasis on the morphological, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties of sol-gel derived materials. The attention will be particularly focused on sol-gel bioactive glasses and sol-gel foam scaffolds for bone regeneration. The advantages deriving from the versatility of the sol-gel method compared to the traditional melt-quenching route will be underlined in terms of bioactivity, compositions, and processing parameters.

A 3D-scaffold for bone tissue engineering should show an interconnected macroporous network with pores exceeding 100 µm to favor cell penetration and vascularisation, should be osteoproductive and should exhibit sufficient mechanical strength. In this work, bioactive glass ceramic scaffold characterised by a network of pores and struts were obtained using the sponge impregnation method. Specifically, 3D-scaffolds with a total porosity of 75 vol.% and 2MPa of compressive strength were prepared through a fine tuning of the processing parameters. On the as obtained scaffolds, silver ions were introduced in controlled amount through ion-exchange process imparting antibacterial properties.

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