The Effect of the Incorporation of Catalase Mimetic Activity Cations on the Structural, Thermal and Chemical Durability Properties of the 45S5 Bioglass®

Abstract

Understanding the effect of the incorporation of doping ions into the structure, thermal properties and chemical durability of bioactive glasses is fundamental for the design of new compositions with tailored biological functions and applications.In this work, we have applied a combined experimental and computational approach to unravel the effect of adding metal oxides of Ce, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu and Zr that impart catalase mimetic activity to the 45S5 Bioglass on its density, thermal properties and chemical durability.UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) experiments allowed to determine the oxidation states of the doping cations in the bulk of the glasses, Differential Thermal Analysis have been used to determine the glass transition and crystallization temperatures whereas the chemical durability in water was determined by following the hydrolytic resistance of glass grains at 98°C standard method.The experimental results have been interpreted at the atomic level by exploiting reliable bulk and surface structural models of the investigated glass generated by using Molecular Dynamics Simulations.Some structure-property relationships helpful for the rational design of new glass compositions have been also inferred.