CALCIUM-PHOSPHATE FORMATION AT THE SURFACE OF BIOACTIVE GLASS INVIVO

Bioactive glasses are glasses which can adhere to bone through chemical bonding. This paper discusses the bonding to bone of phosphate-free glasses, and the formation of calcium phosphate at the surface of these glasses in vivo. The bone bonding was proved by a push-out test. In the bonding to bone, the glass surface initially transforms into a silica gel. By SEM/EDX analysis it was shown that phosphate ions from the physiological solution penetrate far into the gel. Calcium accumulation occurs only in the presence of phosphate. The results suggest that the initial stage of the calcium phosphate build-up is complexation of phosphate by the silica gel. © 1990.