Fabrication of CaO-NaO-SiO(2)/TiO (2) scaffolds for surgical applications.

A series of titanium (Ti) based glasses were formulated (0.62 SiO(2)-0.14 Na(2)O-0.24 CaO, with 0.05 mol% TiO(2) substitutions for SiO(2)) to develop glass/ceramic scaffolds for bone augmentation. Glasses were initially characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size analysis, where the starting materials were amorphous with 4.5 μm particles. Hot stage microscopy and high temperature XRD were used to determine the sintering temperature (~700 °C) and any crystalline phases present in this region (Na(2)Ca(3)Si(6)O(16), combeite and quartz). Hardness testing revealed that the Ti-free control (ScC-2.4 GPa) had a significantly lower hardness than the Ti-containing materials (Sc1 and Sc2 ~6.6 GPa). Optical microscopy determined pore sizes ranging from 544 to 955 μm. X-ray microtomography calculated porosity from 87 to 93 % and surface area measurements ranging from 2.5 to 3.3 SA/mm(3). Cytotoxicity testing (using mesenchymal stem cells) revealed that all materials encouraged cell proliferation, particularly the higher Ti-containing scaffolds over 24-72 h.