The future of bioactive ceramics

Abstract

Two important worldwide needs must be satisfied in the future; (1) treatment of the deteriorating health of an aging population and, (2) decreasing healthcare costs to meet the needs of an increased population. The ethical and economic dilemma is how to achieve equality in quality of care while at the same time decreasing cost of care for an ever-expanding number of people. The limited lifetime of prosthetic devices made from first-generation nearly inert biomaterials requires new approaches to meet these two large needs. This paper advises an expanded emphasis on: (1) regeneration of tissues and (2) prevention of tissue deterioration to meet this growing need. Innovative use of bioactive ceramics with genetic control of in situ tissue responses offers the potential to achieve both tissue regeneration and prevention. Clinical success of use of bioactive glass for bone regeneration is evidence that this concept works. Likewise the use of micron sized bioactive glass powders in a dentifrice for re-mineralization of teeth provides evidence that prevention of tissue deterioration is also possible. This opinion paper outlines clinical needs that could be met by innovative use of bioactive glasses and ceramics in the near future; including: regeneration of skeletal tissues that is patient specific and genetic based, load-bearing bioactive glass-ceramics for skeletal and ligament and tendon repair, repair and regeneration of soft tissues, and rapid low-cost analysis of human cell-biomaterial interactions leading to patient specific diagnoses and treatments using molecularly tailored bioceramics.

Crystallization pathways and some properties of lithium disilicate oxynitride glasses

“…The discovery of glass-ceramics by S. D. Stookey in the early 1950s fostered extensive research work on the interrelations among their composition, processing, crystallization kinetics, and the resulting microstructures, properties, and potential applications [1][2][3][4]. In this context, lithium disilicate (Li 2 Si 2 O 5 ) glasses have been extensively used for investigating the crystallization kinetics and thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of the resulting glassceramics [5][6][7][8][9].…”

Design of air aging induced surface patterns on 45S5 Bioglass® compacted by spark plasma sintering

“…Ever since it was developed by Hench in the late 1960s, 45S5 Bioglass® (45S5) has aroused an immense amount of research interest and achieved commendable success in clinical applications [1,2]. As the original Bioglass® formulation, it has the capability of directly and intimately bonding to bone tissue [3,4].…”

Molecular, Cellular and Pharmaceutical Aspects of Synthetic Hydroxyapatite Bone Substitutes for Oral and Maxillofacial Grafting

“…Their roles in controlling osteogenesis and bone metabolism are currently under investigation [128]. However, for all this new technologies to create molecularly tailored bioceramics, clinical translation will be a complicating step [129,130]. scanning electron microscopy, x2000…”