Andrada-Ioana Damian-Buda

Visiting student, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania

Development of new compositions of sol-gel derived ion doped bioactive glasses with angiogenic potential for hard tissue engineering

 

Supervisors: Qaisar Nawaz, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

The intrinsic ability of hard tissue to regrow and restore itself as part of the bone physiological remodelling process is already well-understood; however, when a large amount of tissue is affected, this process becomes restricted. To overcome this problem, bioactive materials are required, of which bioactive glasses, developed for the first time 50 years ago, represent a very good example [1]. One of the main problems of tissue engineered constructs is the lack of vascular supply to transport nutrients and metabolic waste [2].  To address this challenge, bioactive glasses with the capability to release angiogenic ions are being developed [3]. In this project, we aim to synthesise ion doped mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGN) using the sol-gel technique [4]. Also, considering the porous structure of the natural bone tissue, 3D bioactive glass scaffolds will be synthesised via the foam replication method. The scaffolds will be coated with the angiogenic MBGNs, characterised and tested for biological activity.

[1] Hench, L. L., Splinter, R. J., Allen, W. C., & Greenlee, T. K., Bonding mechanisms at the interface of ceramic prosthetic materials, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 1971, 5(6), 117–141

[2] Gerhardt L-C, Boccaccini, AR., Bioactive Glass and Glass-Ceramic Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering, Materials, 2010, 3(7), 867-3910.

[3] Gorustovich, A. A., et al., Effect of Bioactive Glasses on Angiogenesis: A Review of In Vitro and In Vivo Evidences, Tissue Engineering Part B, 16, 2010, 199-207.

[4] Z Neščáková, et al., Multifunctional zinc ion doped sol–gel derived mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles for biomedical applications, Bioactive Materials 4, 2019, 312-321.