Assessment of in vitro bioactivity of SiO2-BaO-ZnO-B2O3-Al2O3 glasses: An optico-analytical approach

Bioactive glasses are an important subclass of biomaterials. The bioactivity of a glass depends on its initial constituents and their respective amounts. In the present investigation, five barium-zinc-borosilicate glass samples have been studied by varying Al2O3 mol% to check their bioactivity. The optical and bioactive properties of pristine glasses are compared with glasses soaked in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) for 10 and 30 days using pH measurement, Ultraviolet-visible-Near Infrared-red (UV-vis-NIR), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. Although calcium is not present as an initial constituent in glass composition, yet bioactivity is observed in some glass samples after dipping them in SBF. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.