Metallic implant materials possess adequate mechanical properties such as strength, elastic modulus, and ductility for long term support and stability in vivo. Traditional metallic biomaterials, including stainless steels, cobalt-chromium alloys, and titanium and its alloys, have been the gold standards for load-bearing implant materials in hard tissue applications in the past decades. Biodegradable metals including iron, magnesium, and zinc have also emerged as novel biodegradable implant materials with different in vivo degradation rates. However, they do not possess good bioactivity and other biological functions. Bioactive glasses have been widely used as coating materials on the metallic implants to improve their integration with the host tissue and overall biological performances. The present review provides a detailed overview of the benefits and issues of metal alloys when used as biomedical implants and how they are improved by bioactive glass-based coatings for biomedical applications.

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Increasing popularities of bioactive-glasses and their potential medical applications have led to countless studies into improving their material characteristics and overall performance. Some scientists hope to create new bioactive-glass compositions, while others seek to merely modify existing ones such as the novel 45S5 bioactive-glass composition; created by Dr. Larry Hench. These modifications aim to address potential complications that may arise at a site following implantation such as bacterial infections. In other cases, the incorporation of a selected element or compound may aim to improve the implant functioning by increasing cell proliferation. Although possibilities are plentiful, researchers avoid compromising the typical bioactive glass characteristics when doping with elements such as silver, or gold to achieve additional properties. This chapter elaborates on the incorporation of popular elements by doping bioactive-glass compositions to introduce desired properties based on the implant application.

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