Bioactive glass coating: physicochemical aspects and biological findings.

Glass coating material was investigated before and after spraying to see whether it maintained the chemical and physical properties; in vivo and in vitro studies were done to evaluate the biological results. Following the spraying process, the Biovetro coating on the TiAl6V4 plate--as evidenced from chemical and physical analysis--maintains the properties of the original glass unchanged as far as the amorphous structure and its behaviour in a hydrolytic environment are concerned. In vitro and in vivo studies underline the positive features of the coating obtained by the plasma spray process, confirming that it has the typical properties of bioactive glass patented under the trade mark, Biovetro, i.e. biodegradability and osteoconductivity already confirmed by previous experimental protocols carried out by our group using powdered and fibre Biovetro.