Hybrid Bioactive Glass-Polyvinyl Alcohol Prepared by Sol-Gel

Bioactive glasses are materials that have been used for the repair and reconstruction of diseased bone tissues, as they exhibit direct bonding with human bone tissues. However, bioactive glasses have low mechanical properties compared to cortical and cancellous bone. On the other hand, composite materials of biodegradable polymers with inorganic bioactive glasses are of particular interest to engineered scaffolds because they often show an excellent balance between strength and toughness and usually improved characteristics compared to their individual components. Composite bioactive glass-polyvinyl alcohol foams for use as scaffolds in tissue engineering were previously developed using the sol-gel route. The goal of this work was the synthesis of composite foams modified with higher amounts of PVA. Samples were characterized by morphological and chemical analysis. The mechanical behavior of the obtained materials was also investigated. The degree of hydrolysis of PVA, concentration of PVA solution and different PVA-bioactive glass composition ratios affect the synthesis procedure. Foams with up to 80 wt% polymer content were obtained. The hybrid scaffolds obtained exhibited macroporous structure with pore size varying from 50 to 600 µm and improved mechanical properties.