Advanced Bioglasses and their Biopolymer-Containing Hybrid Forms

Abstract

Bioglasses are key biomaterials with increasing potential applications, beyond those well accepted ones, mainly related to bone replacements or biocompatible coatings of artificial implants. In addition to the numerous strictly inorganic formulations developed in the past, an advanced generation of these phases, wisely combined with functional biopolymers is currently developed. These new hybrid materials areaimed to enhance cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and organization in a normal tissue configuration, while the whole biomaterial is biodegraded at an adequate rate. The success of this combination in the form of a synergic heterogeneous functional material is strongly constrained by the bioglass texture; the structural control at different scale levels, ranging from the nano to the macro scale, is mandatory. In this chapter, we describe and discuss the concepts, trends and advances related to the preparation of highly textured bioglasses and the subsequent combination with biopolymers, as advanced biocomposites for tissue engineering.