In-vitro protein interactions with a bioactive gel-glass

Recent theories suggest that the local adsorption of biologically active peptide growth factors onto the surface of an implant may contribute to the unique osteogenic nature of silica-containing bioactive ceramics. A sol-gel derived glass is used as a model of the in-vivo reaction product of 45S5 bioactive glass at relatively short times (<48 hrs.) to investigate protein adsorption/desorption behavior. The adsorption kinetics of three heme-class proteins (cytochrome c, myoglobin, and hemoglobin) are measured spectroscopically. The rate of adsorption is shown to increase with average pore size, which is determined by the silica content of the gel. Adsorption rate decreases as protein size is increased and as solution pH is decreased. Biological function of an adsorbed peroxidase enzyme on pre-reacted Bioglass(R) is shown to be retained. Desorption during physiologic conditions is shown to be linear with time and pH dependant, while independent of gel bioactivity.