Dissolution and bioactivity of a sol-gel derived borate glass in six different solution media

Abstract Sol-gel derived bioactive borate glasses (SGBGs) rapidly convert to hydroxycarbonated apatite (HCA) in simulated body fluid (SBF), in vitro. While previous studies have examined the influence of processing and composition on bioactivity, the effect of the in vitro dissolution media has not been well examined for these glasses. In this study, the mineral conversion of a SGBG substituted 45S5 Bioglass® formulation (“B46”, (46.1)B2O3-(26.9)CaO-(24.4)Na2O-(2.6)P2O5, mol%), was examined in six different dissolution media: SBF, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS, pH 7.4) buffer, Dulbecco’s phosphate buffered saline (PBS, 1X), Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM, 1X), 0.9% Saline (SAL), and deionized water (DIW) at 1.5 mg/mL for 10 min, 2h, and 1d. All media underwent a rapid increase in pH as a result of glass dissolution and ion release. B46 in SBF, TRIS, and PBS converted to HCA while B46 in DMEM, SAL, and DIW converted to calcite according to attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The ratio of B46 to SBF was also examined at 3, 6, 12, and 24 mg/mL for 1d. These results help elucidate the dissolution and mineral conversion of borate glasses and help provide insights into optimizing pre-conditioning treatments for both in vitro and in vivo analyses.