Bioceramic material of the quaternary system; SiO 2 - CaO-Na 2 O-P 2 O 5 that has composition similar to Bio- glass ? 45S5 was prepared by the sol-gel method from locally obtained bentonite clay (BTC). The monolith obtained was sintered at 1000 ?C for 2 h to facilitate densification and phase transformation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the presence of sodium calcium silicate, Na 2 Ca 2 Si 3 O 9 as major crystal phase, and another secondary orthorhombic phase, NaCaPO 4 . Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic investigation confirmed the presence of Si-O-Si bonds and a crystalline phosphate in the glass network. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a network of micropores and interconnected macropores. Overall, the material displays features amenable for possible utilization in tissue engineering scaffolds.
Williams, D. (2004) Benefit and risk of tissue engineering. Materials Today, 7, 24-29. doi:10.1016/S1369-7021(04)00232-9
Oliveira, J.M., Silva, S.S., Malafaya, P.B., Rodrigues, M.T., Kotobuki, N., Hirose, M., Gomes, M.E., Mano, J.F., Ohgushi, H. and Reis, R.L. (2009) Macroporous hydro-xyapatite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications: Physicochemical characterization and assessment of rat bone marrow stromal cell viability. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 91A, 175-186. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.32213
Hutmacher, D.W., Schantz, J.T., Lam, C.X.F., Tan, K.C and Lim, T.C. (2007). State of the art and future directions of scaffold-based bone engineering from a biomaterials perspective. Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 1, 245-260. doi:10.1002/term.24
Hassna, R.R.R. and Zhang, M. (2004) Biphasic calcium phosphate nanocomposite porous scaffolds for load-bear- ing bone tissue engineering. Biomaterials, 25, 5171-5180. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2003.12.023
Hench, L.L. (2006) The story of Bioglass?. Journal Material Science: Materials in Medicine, 17, 967-978. doi:10.1007/s10856-006-0432-z
Xynos, I.D., Edgar, A.J., Buttery, L.D.K., Hench, L.L. and Polak, J.M. (2001) Gene-expression profiling of human osteoblasts following treatment with the ionic products of Bioglass 45S5 dissolution. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 55, 151-157. doi:10.1002/1097-4636(200105)55:2 3.0.CO;2-D
Hench, L.L., Splinter, R.J., Allen, W.C. and Greenlee Jr., T.K. (1971) Bonding mechanisms at the interface of ceramic prosthetic materials. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 2, 117-141. doi:10.1002/jbm.820050611
Jones, J.R. (2009) New trends in bioactive scaffolds: The importance of nanostructure. Journal of European Cera- mic Society, 29, 1275-1281. doi:10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2008.08.003
Hench, L.L. (1991) Bioceramics: From concept to clinic. Journal of American Ceramic Society, 74, 1487-510. doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1991.tb07132.x
Jones, J.R., Ehrenfried, L.M. and Hench, L.L. (2006) Op- timising bioactive glass scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Biomaterials, 27, 964-973. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.07.017
Pereira, M.M., Jones, J.R., Orefice, R.L. and Hench, L.L. (2005) Preparation of bioactive glass-polyvinyl alcohol hybrid foams by the sol-gel method. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 16, 1045-1050. doi:10.1007/s10856-005-4758-8
Chen, Q.-Z., Thompson, I.D. and Boccaccini, A.R. (2006) 45S5 Bioglass?-derived glass-ceramic scaffold for bone tissue engineering. Biomaterials, 27, 2414-2425. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.11.025
Chen, Q.-Z., Li, Y., Jin, L., Quinn, J.M.W. and Komesaroff, P.A. (2010) A new sol-gel process for producing Na2O-containing bioactive glass ceramics. Acta Biomaterialia, 6, 4143-4153. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2010.04.022
Peitl, O., Zanotto, E.D. and Hench, L.L. (2001) Highly bioactive P2O5-Na2O-CaO-SiO2 glass-ceramics. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 292, 115-126. doi:10.1016/S0022-3093(01)00822-5
Li, Z., Hou, B., Xu, Y., Wu, D., Sun, Y., Hu, W., Deng, W. and Deng, F. (2005). Comparative study of sol-gel-hydrothermal and sol-gel synthesis of titaniasilica composite nanoparticles. Journal Solid State Chemistry, 178, 1395-1405. doi:10.1016/j.jssc.2004.12.034
Pabon, E., Retuert, J., Quijada, R. and Zarate, A. (2004) TiO2-SiO2 mixed oxides prepared by a combined sol-gel and polymer inclusion method. Microporous and Meso-porous Materials, 67, 195-203. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2003.10.017
Crisan, M., Raileanu, M., Preda, S., Zaharescu, M., Valean, A.M., Popovici, E.J., Teodorescu, V.S., Matejec, V. and Mrazek, J. (2006) Manganese doped sol-gel materials with catalytic properties. Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 8, 815-819.
Hench, L.L., (1997) Theory of bioactivity: The potential for skeletal regeneration. Anales de Quimica, 93, 44-48.
Nayak, J.P., Kamar, S. and Bera, J. (2010) Sol-gel synthesis of bioglass-ceramics using rice husk ash as a source for silica and its characterization. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 356, 1447-1451. doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2010.04.041
Wu, S.C., Hsu, H.C., Hsiao, S.H. and Ho, W.F. (2009) Preparation of porous 45S5 Bioglass-derived glass-ceramic scaffolds by using rice husk as a porogen additive. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 20, 1229-1236. doi:10.1007/s10856-009-3690-8
Casado, C.E., Prado, M.O. and Zanotto, E.D. (2001) Nano- porosity in sintered silica powders from rice hull ash. II Simpósio Brasilereiro de Estruturologia, Tiradentes, 27-29 September 2001, 89-89.
Sposito, G., Skipper, N.T., Sutton, R., Park, S-h., Soper, A.K. and Greathouse, J.A. (1999) Surface geochemistry of the clay minerals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Califonia, 8-9 November 1998, 3358-3364.
Moore, D.M. and Reynolds, R.C. (1997) X-ray diffraction and identification and analysis of clay minerals. 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, New York.
Essien, E.R., Olaniyi, O.A., Adams, L.A. and Shaibu, R.O. (2012) Sol-gel-derived porous silica: Economic synthesis and characterization. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 11, 976-981.
Karageorgiou, V. and Kaplan, D. (2005) Porosity of 3D biomaterial scaffolds and osteogenesis. Biomaterials, 26, 5474-5491. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.02.002
Lee, C.J., Kim, G.S. and Hyun, S.H. (2002) Synthesis of silica aerogels from waterglass via new modified ambient drying. Journal of Materials Science, 37, 2237-2241. doi:10.1023/A:1015309014546
Ochoa, I., Sanz-Herrera, J.A., Garcia-Aznar, J.M., Do- blaré, M., Yunos, D.M. and Boccaccini, A.R. (2009) Permeability evaluation of 45S5 Bioglass?-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Journal of Biomechanics, 42, 257-260. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.10.030
Lenza, R.F.S. and Vasconcelos, W.L. (2001) Preparation of silica by sol-gel method using formamide. Materials Research, 4, 189-194. doi:10.1590/S1516-14392001000300008
Carta, D., Knowles, J.C., Smith, M.E. and Newport, R.J. (2007) Synthesis and structural characterization of P2O5- CaO-Na2O sol-gel materials. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 353, 1141-1149. doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2006.12.093
Qian, J., Kang, Y., Wei, Z. and Zhang, W. (2009) Fabri-cation and characterization of biomorphic 45S5 bioglass scaffold from sugarcane. Material Science and Engineering C, 29, 1361-1364.
Chen, Q.Z., Rezewan, K., Fran?on, V., Armitage, D., Nazhat, S.N., Jones, S.H. and Boccaccini, A.R. (2007) Surface functionalization of Bioglass?-derived porous scaffolds. Acta Biomaterialia, 3, 551-562. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2007.01.008
Clupper, D.C., Mecholsky, J.J., LaTorre, G.P. and Green-span, D.C. (2002) Bioactivity of tape cast and sintered bioactive glass-ceramic in simulated body fluid. Biomaterials, 23, 2599-2606. doi:10.1016/S0142-9612(01)00398-2