The synthesis and bioactivity in vitro of functionalized mesoporous bioactive glasses

Amino and carboxylic groups functionalized mesoporous bioactive glasses (denoted as N-MBGs and C-MBGs, respectively) were successfully synthesized through a post-grafting process. The in vitro bioactivities testing results indicate that the morphology and growing rate of carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA) were affected dramatically by the introduced functional groups. Spherical CHA were observed grown on N-MBGs after soaking in the simulated body fluid (SBF) solution for 8h, which is different form the rod-like CHA grown on MBGs. While for C-MBGs, the nucleation and growth rate of CHA was decreased at increased contents of carboxylic groups. These demonstrate that it is possible to tune the rate of bone tissue regeneration by modifying MBGs with different kinds of functional groups.