Devis Bellucci

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Italy

In the development of bone graft substitutes, a fundamental step is the use of scaffolds with adequate composition and architecture capable of providing support in regenerative processes both on the tissue scale, where adequate resistance to mechanical stress is required, as well as at the cellular level where compliant chemical–physical and mechan...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are promising materials for bone regeneration due to their ability to bond with living bone tissue. However, thermal stability and mechanical properties of BGs need improvement for better clinical performance. In this paper, we present an overview of the influence of different ions on the sintering and crystallization of BGs...

Tissue engineering (TE) is a branch of regenerative medicine with enormous potential to regenerate damaged tissues using synthetic grafts such as scaffolds. Polymers and bioactive glasses (BGs) are popular materials for scaffold production because of their tunable properties and ability to interact with the body for effective tissue regeneration. D...

Due to the aging of population, materials able to repair damaged tissues are needed. Among others, bioactive glasses (BGs) have attracted a lot of interest due to their outstanding properties both for hard and soft tissues. Here, for the first time, two new BGs, which gave very promising results in preliminary in vitro-tests, were implanted in anim...

In this work, three-units monolithic fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) have been analysed and a novel model for reliable testing has been proposed. Such model is based on a new design of the polymeric base of the FDP, realised via additive manufacturing (AM) - a solution that conveys at the same time quick manufacturability, low cost, custom-ability,...

Bioceramic scaffolds, composed of a biphasic composite containing bioactive glass and hydroxyapatite, were prepared in this work to overcome the intrinsic limits of the two components taken separately (in particular, their specific reactivities and dissolution rates, which should be tunable as a function of the given clinical requirements). To mimi...

Hydroxyapatite (HA) and a lab-made bioactive glass (BGMS10) are combined (50/50 wt.%) in this work, where the effect produced by a ball milling (BM) treatment (0-120 min) prior SPS consolidation on the characteristics of the resulting products is investigated. An extraordinary improvement of the apatite-forming ability during in-vitro test on SPS s...

The recent research on bioactive glasses (BGs) has mainly moved on two fronts: (1) introducing ions of therapeutic interest in their composition and (2) the development of scaffolds, fibers, coatings and sintered products starting from BGs in powder form. In this case, the main obstacle to overcome is that BGs rapidly crystallize during heat treatm...

In this work a novel bioactive glass composition was used to deposit coatings by means of plasma spraying. Different coatings were manufactured and optimized by varying the processing parameters and were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the bioactivity was assessed by in vitro tests in Simulated Body Fluid so...

The so-called BGMS10, a bioactive glass containing 10 mol.% SrO and 10 mol.% MgO, displays a low inclination to crystallize, as confirmed by its high activation energy (538.9 kJ/mol). Such peculiar aspect and the beneficial use of SPS allow for the obtainment of 99.7 % dense and fully amorphous products at 750 °C. The incipient crystallization in t...

The use of bioactive glasses in dentistry, reconstructive surgery, and in the treatment of infections can be considered broadly beneficial based on the emerging literature about the potential bioactivity and biocompatibility of these materials, particularly with reference to Bioglass® 45S5, BonAlive® and 19-93B3 bioactive glasses. Several investiga...

Polycaprolactone (PCL) is widely used in additive manufacturing for the construction of scaffolds for tissue engineering because of its good bioresorbability, biocompatibility, and processability. Nevertheless, its use is limited by its inadequate mechanical support, slow degradation rate and the lack of bioactivity and ability to induce cell adhes...

Collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginate, and cellulose are biocompatible and non-cytotoxic, being attractive natural polymers for medical devices for both soft and hard tissues. However, such natural polymers have low bioactivity and poor mechanical properties, which limit their applications. To tackle these drawbacks,...

A novel bioactive glass containing therapeutic ions with enhanced biocompatibility was designed and produced by the classical melt-quenching route. Starting from a very promising composition (Bio_MS), which combined bioactivity and high crystallization temperature, the ratio between some oxides was tailored to obtain a new and more reactive (in ter...

In this work, an interdisciplinary approach was employed to investigate the impact on thermoplastic catheters from the deposition of a thin (180 nm), metallic silver film by a pulsed ablation technique. Our characterization firstly involved tensile and bending tests, each one accompanied by finite element modeling aiming to elucidate the contributi...

Functional reconstruction of bone defects represents a clinical challenge in the regenerative medicine field, which targets tissue repair following traumatic injuries and disease-related bone deficiencies. In this regard, the optimal biomaterial should be safe, biocompatible and tailored in order to promote the activation of host progenitor cells t...

Bioactive glasses are promising biomaterials for bone and tissue repair and reconstruction, as they were shown to bond to both hard and soft tissues stimulating cells towards a path of regeneration and self-repair. Unfortunately, due to their relatively poor mechanical properties, such as brittleness, low bending strength and fracture toughness, th...

Passive commercial gauzes were turned into interactive wound dressings by impregnating them with a chitosan suspension. To further improve healing, and cell adhesion and proliferation, chitosan/bioactive glass wound dressings were produced with the addition of (i) 45S5, (ii) a Sr- and Mg-containing bioactive glass, and (iii) a Zn-containing bioacti...

In this work, a new bioactive glass was designed, prepared by means of a melt-quenching route and characterized in terms of both thermal properties and biological performance. The main objective was to obtain a novel product with high temperature of crystallization in view of possible thermal treatments, as well as remarkable biological responsiven...

In this work, HA/bioactive glass Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) are obtained for the first time by means of Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Two series of highly dense 5 layered products, namely FGMS1 and FGMS2, are prepared under optimized SPS conditions, i.e. 1000 °C/2 min/16 MPa and 800 °C/2 min/50 MPa, respectively, using a die with varying...

In this work, a new 3D cellular model—based on human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM–MSCs)—was used for the first time to test the 45S5 Bioglass® (45S5). Such a model, previously used to evaluate the biologic performance of two novel bioactive glasses, suggested out the regenerative potential of such materials. In fact, BM–MSCs were able bot...

In this present study, in vitro characterization on bioactivity and biocompatibility of the copper-doped hydroxyapatite (Cu-HA) coatings deposited onto Ti6Al4V alloy with increasing copper content obtained using solution precursor plasma spray process were evaluated under simulated body fluid (SBF) and cytotoxicity tests. The growth of flake-like s...

Most materials for bone tissue engineering are in form of highly porous open-celled components (porosity >70%) developed by means of an adequate coupling of formulations and manufacturing technologies. This paper is dedicated to porous components from BGMS10 bioactive glass, originally designed to undergo viscous flow sintering without crystallizat...

A 3D cellular model that mimics the potential clinical application of a biomaterial is here applied for the first time to a bioactive glass, in order to assess its biological potential. A recently developed bioactive glass (BGMS10), whose composition contained strontium and magnesium, was produced in the form of granules and fully investigated in t...

Different bioactive glasses, bioceramics and their composites were extensively analysed in terms of biological responsiveness and angiogenic potential. In particular several inorganic materials were considered, namely the widely used 45S5 bioactive glass (BG), an experimental BG with low tendency to crystallize, other three experimental bioactive g...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are currently employed in a wide range of medical and dentistry applications by virtue of their bone-bonding ability. The incorporation of BGs into a collagen matrix may be used to combine the regenerative potential of these materials with the specific biological advantages of collagen. However, most of the collagen/BG compo...

Novel bioactive glasses with different amount of zinc oxide (ZnO), namely 2, 3.8 and 5 mol%, were designed, produced by a melt-quenching route and investigated in terms of biological performance. Proper amounts of ZnO were added to a previously developed bioactive glass containing strontium and magnesium, characterized by an ultra-high crystallizat...

In order to increase manufacturing and experimental efficiency, a certain degree of control over design performances before realization phase is recommended. In this context, this paper presents an integrated procedure to design 3D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The procedure required a combination of Computer Aided Design (CAD), Finite Ele...

The in-vitro behaviour of three series of dense materials with different crystallization degree and phases produced by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) from CaO-rich bioglass powders is investigated by soaking them up to 14 days in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF). The completely amorphous materials produced after 2 min at 730 °C display the more pronounced...

A novel bioglass composition (BGMS10), containing strontium and magnesium and characterized by an ultra-high crystallization temperature, is here employed for the first time to produce different composites with the addition of specific amounts of hydroxyapatite. After an investigation of the samples’ bioactivity in vitro in a simulated body fluid s...

In this work, a set of novel bioactive glasses have been tested in vivo in an animal model. The new compositions, characterized by an exceptional thermal stability and high in vitro bioactivity, contain strontium and/or magnesium, whose biological benefits are well documented in the literature. To simulate a long-term implant and to study the effec...

Zinc-doped hydroxyapatite (HA + Zn) has aroused increasing interest in bone contact applications, for its capacity to modulate osteoblast activity and for the antibacterial properties of zinc ions. In this study, HA + Zn coatings deposited by the Solution Precursor Plasma Spraying (SPPS) process were characterized. This method employs solution feed...

Calcite-based composite scaffolds have been successfully 3D-printed by direct ink writing, starting from a paste comprising a silicone polymer and calcite (CaCO3) powders. The firing in nitrogen, at 600 °C, after preliminary cross-linking step at 350 °C, determined the transformation of the polymer matrix into a silica-carbon nano-composite, embedd...

The biocompatibility of hydroxyapatite (HA), a lab-made bioglass (BGCaMIX) with high crystallization temperature and different HA/BGCaMIX composites, produced by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), was tested with respect to murine osteocytes both by direct and indirect tests, in order to also investigate possible cytotoxic effects of the samples’ extrac...

The biocompatibility of hydroxyapatite (HA), a lab-made bioglass (BGCaMIX) with high crystallization temperature and different HA/BGCaMIX composites, produced by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), was tested with respect to murine osteocytes both by direct and indirect tests, in order to also investigate possible cytotoxic effects of the samples’ extrac...

Bioactive glasses, and in particular the “gold standard” 45S5 Bioglass® (45S5), are employed in medical practice by virtue of their ability to bond to bone. However, the tendency to crystallize of such systems during thermal treatments, which are necessary in several processing routes, is among the reasons that prevent a broader use of these materi...

Due to poor mechanical properties and brittleness of bioactive glasses, the deposition of bioactive glass coatings on bioinert metallic implants for bone regeneration is a promising route to combine the high bioactivity of the glassy phase with the mechanical strength of metallic substrate. The Pulsed Electron Deposition (PED) technique has been re...

Silica-bonded calcite scaffolds have been successfully 3D-printed by direct ink writing, starting from a paste comprising a silicone polymer and calcite powders, calibrated in order to match a SiO2/CaCO3 weight balance of 35/65. The scaffolds, fabricated with two slightly different geometries, were first cross-linked at 350 °C, then fired at 600 °C...

In this work a set of novel materials for bone tissue regeneration have been tested in vivo in an animal model. In fact, despite many studies have been devoted to amorphous 45S5 Bioglass®, there is lack in the literature of works aimed to study the in vivo performance of heat-treated – and thus partially crystallized – 45S5. As widely reported, cry...

The composition of a CaO-rich silicate bioglass (BG_Ca-Mix, in mol%: 2.3 Na2O; 2.3 K2O; 45.6 CaO; 2.6 P2O5; 47.2 SiO2) was modified by replacing a fixed 10 mol% of CaO with MgO or SrO or fifty-fifty MgO-SrO. The thermal behaviour of the modified glasses was accurately evaluated via differential thermal analysis (DTA), heating microscopy and direct...

Hydroxyapatite-based composites (HA-C) with bioglass as second phase are usually produced by hot-pressing or pressureless sintering. However, such methods require thermal levels which exceed the crystallization temperature of the glass, with possible negative effects on the bioactivity of the final system. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a powerful...

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are innovative materials whose composition and/or microstructure gradually vary in space according to a designed law. As a result, also the properties gradually vary in space, so as to meet specific non-homogeneous service requirements without any abrupt interface at the macroscale. FGMs are emerging materials f...

Calcium phosphates are among the most common biomaterials employed in orthopaedic and dental surgery. The efficacy of such systems as bone substitutes and bioactive coatings on metallic prostheses has been proved by several clinical studies. Among these materials, hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) play a prominent role in medical p...

Densification and crystallization phenomena taking place when a recently developed CaO-rich bioactive glass and conventional 45S5 Bioglass® are processed by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) are examined. Fully dense and wholly amorphous products can be obtained from the new glass composition at 730°C after 2min dwell time. Moreover, temperatures equal...

This paper assesses the diverse potentialities of two different suspension spraying processes, namely High Velocity Suspension Flame Spraying (HVSFS) and Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS), for the deposition of bioactive coatings based on hydroxyapatite and on a new, custom-made K2O-Na2O-CaO-P2O5-SiO2 bioactive glass.With both feedstock types, the H...

The difference in purity, particle size, microstructure, and thermo-chemical stability of three commercially available hydroxyapatite powders are found to play an important role during their consolidation using spark plasma sintering (SPS) as well as strongly affect the characteristics of the resulting sintered bodies. A fully dense material withou...

A bioactive glass topcoatwas introduced to modify the surface morphology and in-vitro reactivity of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings for biomedical applications. With this aim, a CaO-rich bioactive glass, termed BG_Ca (wt.%: 4.7 Na2O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P2O5, and 46.9 SiO2),was selected due to its good bioactivity and lowtendency to crystallize at high temp...

Highly porous scaffolds with composition similar to those of 45S5 and 58S bioglasses were successfully produced by an innovative processing method based on preceramic polymers containing micro- and nano-sized fillers. Silica from the decomposition of the silicone resins reacted with the oxides deriving from the fillers, yielding glass ceramic compo...

Enamelling is a relatively easy and inexpensive technique to produce glass coatings. In this contribution, three different low-alkaline bioactive glasses, modified with Na2O and/or K2O for a total alkaline content of 4.6 mol%, were enamelled on Ti6Al4V substrates for potential orthopaedic applications. The glasses in powder form were applied by mea...

Animal flour ash,rich in phosphorous,calcium and alkaline oxides,has been used to formulate (i)controlled-release fertilizers,since they manage to release the nutrient elements(P,K) at a low rate,and (ii) bioactiveglasses. (i) Four formulations were tailored using different amounts of animal flour ash(35–48 wt%),potassium carbonate(10–25 wt%) and a...

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research - Part B Applied Biomaterials Volume 102, Issue 3, April 2014, Pages 551-560 Abstract: Various bioactive glass/hydroxyapatite (HA) functional coatings were designed by the suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique. Their microstructure, scratch resistance, and apatite-forming ability in a simulated body flu...

In this work hydroxyapatite, beta-tricalcium phosphate and a new bioactive glass have been used to produce ternary composites for orthopedic applications. Thanks to the particular properties of the glass, whose formulation delays the devitrification processes at high temperature, sintering the composites at a relatively low temperature (800 degrees...

Binary biocomposites were realized by combining yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) with a bioactive glass matrix. Few works are available regarding composites containing zirconia and a relatively high content of glass because the resulting samples are usually biocompatible but not bioactive after thermal treatment. In the pre...

A bioactive glass topcoatwas introduced to modify the surface morphology and in-vitro reactivity of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings for biomedical applications. With this aim, a CaO-rich bioactive glass, termed BG_Ca (wt.%: 4.7 Na2O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P2O5, and 46.9 SiO2),was selected due to its good bioactivity and lowtendency to crystallize at high temp...

In cementless fixation of metallic prostheses, bony ingrowth onto the implant surface is often promoted by osteoconductive plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings. The present work explores the use of the innovative High Velocity Suspension Flame Spraying (HVSFS) process to coat Ti substrates with thin homogeneous hydroxyapatite coatings. The HVSFS...

The innovative suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique was applied to produce a bioactive glass/hydroxy-apatite (HA) multi-layered functionally graded coating (FGC). The constituent phases were selected to combine the high bone-bonding ability of bioactive glasses (on the surface of the FGC) with the long-term stability of HA (close to the inter...

The innovative suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique was applied to produce a bioactive glass/hydroxy-apatite (HA) multi-layered functionally graded coating (FGC). The constituent phases were selected to combine the high bone-bonding ability of bioactive glasses (on the surface of the FGC) with the long-term stability of HA (close to the inter...

The innovative suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique was applied to produce a bioactive glass/hydroxyapatite (HA) multi-layered functionally graded coating (FGC). The constituent phases were selected to combine the high bone-bonding ability of bioactive glasses (on the surface of the FGC) with the long-term stability of HA (close to the interf...

The innovative suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique was applied to produce a bioactive glass/hydroxyapatite (HA) multi-layered functionally graded coating (FGC). The constituent phases were selected to combine the high bone-bonding ability of bioactive glasses (on the surface of the FGC) with the long-term stability of HA (close to the interf...

Recently several attempts have been made to combine calcium phosphates, such as β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and, most of all, hydroxyapatite (HA), with bioactive glasses of different composition, in order to develop composites with improved biological and mechanical performance. Unfortunately, the production of such systems usually implies a hig...

Bioactive glass coatings deposited via suspension plasma spraying were studied to improve the adhesion between orthopaedic implants and bone. Fine powders of a bioactive glass, named BG_Ca, having composition (in wt.%): 4.7 Na2O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P2O5, and 46.9 SiO2, were produced and dispersed in ethanol to form a suspension used as a feedstock. Vari...

Bioactive glass coatings deposited via suspension plasma sprayingwere studied to improve the adhesion between orthopaedic implants and bone. Fine powders of a bioactive glass, named BG_Ca, having composition (in wt.%): 4.7 Na2O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P2O5, and 46.9 SiO2, were produced and dispersed in ethanol to form a suspension used as a feedstock. Vario...

Since the 1970s, various types of ceramic, glass and glass-ceramic materials have been proposed and used to replace damaged bone in many clinical applications. Among them, hydroxyapatite (HA) has been successfully employed thanks to its excellent biocompatibility. On the other hand, the bioactivity of HA and its reactivity with bone can be improved...

Bioactive glass coatings deposited via suspension plasma spraying were studied to improve the adhesion between orthopaedic implants and bone. Fine powders of a bioactive glass, named BG_Ca, having composition (in wt.%): 4.7 Na 2 O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P 2 O 5 , and 46.9 SiO 2 , were produced and dispersed in ethanol to form a suspension used as a feedsto...

Bioactive glass coatings deposited via suspension plasma spraying were studied to improve the adhesion between orthopaedic implants and bone. Fine powders of a bioactive glass, named BG_Ca, having composition (in wt.%): 4.7 Na 2 O, 42.3 CaO, 6.1 P 2 O 5 , and 46.9 SiO 2 , were produced and dispersed in ethanol to form a suspension used as a feedsto...

Various bioactive glass/hydroxyapatite (HA) functional coatings were designed by the suspension plasma spraying (SPS) technique. Their microstructure, scratch resistance, and apatite-forming ability in a simulated body fluid (SBF) were compared. The functional coatings design included: (i) composite coating, that is, randomly distributed constituen...

Bioceramic "shell" scaffolds, with a morphology resembling the cancellous bone microstructure, have been recently obtained by means of a new protocol, developed with the aim to overcome the limits of the conventional foam replication technique. Because of their original microstructure, the new samples combine high porosity, permeability, and manage...

Two different oxide-based bioactive materials, namely tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and K2O–CaO–P2O5–SiO2 bioactive glass (“Bio-K”), were processed by the High Velocity Suspension Flame Spraying (HVSFS) technique. Single splats were deposited onto polished cold glass plates using a custom-built experimental set up. In addition, complete coatings were...

Al(2)O(3)-10 vol.% YAG and Al(2)O(3)-10 vol.% ZrO(2) bi-phase composites as well as Al(2)O(3)-5 vol.% YAG-5 vol.% ZrO(2) tri-phase composite were developed by controlled surface modification of an alumina powder with inorganic precursors of the second phases. Green bodies were produced by dry pressing and slip casting and then sintered at 1500 A de...

Titanium plates were coated by high-velocity suspension flame spraying (HVSFS) technique using a novel bioactive glass composition based on the K2O–CaO–P2O5–SiO2 composition (“Bio-K”). On half of the samples, an atmospheric plasma sprayed (APS) TiO2 bond coat was preliminarily deposited; suspensions of attrition-milled micron-sized glass powders, d...

Two innovative glass compositions based on the commonly used 45S5 Bioglass® were developed by increasing the calcium quantity and replacing the sodium oxide with a specific content of potassium oxide. The new glasses, named BG_Ca/K and BG_Ca/Mix, can be prepared using a conventional melting process and show a very low tendency to crystallize. Thank...

A new protocol, based on a modified replication method, is proposed to obtain bioactive glass scaffolds. The main feature of these samples, named "shell scaffolds", is their external surface that, like a compact and porous shell, provides both high permeability to fluids and mechanical support. In this work, two different scaffolds were prepared us...

Because of their excellent bioactivity, bioactive glasses are increasingly diffused to produce biomedical devices for bone prostheses, to face the dysfunctions that may be caused by traumatic events, diseases, or even natural aging. However, several processing routes, such as the production of scaffolds or the deposition of coatings, include a ther...

Bioactive glasses are able to develop a tenacious bond with human bone tissues and therefore they are largely used in orthopaedic and dental implants. However, due to their brittleness, they are mainly applied as coatings on tough substrates, such as titanium, alumina and zirconia. The reliability of bioactive glass coatings is deeply influenced by...

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely investigated as scaffolding material for bone tissue engineering, mainly for its excellent biocompatibility. Presently, there is an increasing interest in the composites of hydroxyapatite with bioactive glasses, with the aim to obtain systems with improved bioactivity or mechanical properties. Moreover, modifying...

In the present contribution, the innovative in situ Raman micro-spectroscopy was applied to investigate the in vitro reactivity of various bioactive glasses. All the investigated glasses belonged to the Na(2)O\K(2)O-CaO-P(2)O(5)-SiO(2) system, but contained sensibly different percentages of network modifiers. The glasses were immersed for increasin...

Bioactive glasses, discovered by Hench and co-workers at the end of the 1960s, are among the most promising biomaterials for bone repair and reconstruction, mainly thanks to their high bioactivity index. Unfortunately, due to their brittleness and relatively poor mechanical properties, their clinical applications are limited to non-load bearing imp...

Since it was introduced at the end of the ‘60s, the 45S5 Bioglass® has played a fundamental role among the materials for orthopedic applications because of its ability to build a stable bond with the surrounding bone. The recent development of bone tissue engineering has led the interest of many scientists in the design of Bioglass®-based scaffolds...

Nowadays bioactive glasses are diffused in medical practice due to their excellent bioactivity. However high temperature treatments, which are commonly required in several processing routes, may induce the glass to crystallize into a glass-ceramic, with possible negative effects on its bioactivity. In this work a new bioactive glass composition, in...

In the last few years several attempts have been made to combine hydroxyapatite (HA) with bioactive glasses of different composition, with the aim to obtain composite materials with improved bioactivity or mechanical properties for hard tissue surgery applications. However, high-temperature treatments are usually required in order to sinter HA-base...

The high-velocity suspension flame spraying technique (HVSFS) was employed in order to deposit 45S5 bioactive glass coatings onto titanium substrates, using a suspension of micron-sized glass powders dispersed in a water + isopropanol mixture as feedstock. By modifying the process parameters, five coatings with different thickness and porosity were...

In this study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) coatings were deposited on Ti plates by the high-velocity suspension flame spraying (HVSFS) technique. The process characteristic, the microstructure and phase composition of the coatings are significantly influenced by the solvent and by the design of the combustion chamber (CC) of the HVSFS torch. Water-based s...

Providing structural support while maintaining bioactivity is one of the most important goals for bioceramic scaffolds, i.e. artificial templates which guide cells to grow in a 3D pattern, facilitating the formation of functional tissues. In the last few years, 45S5 Bioglass® has been widely investigated as scaffolding material, mainly for its abil...

Glass-ceramic macroporous scaffolds are crucial for bone tissue engineering, since they act as temporary templates for cell proliferation. An ideal scaffold should combine bioactivity, high porosity, and adequate mechanical properties. Moreover, a resistant and permeable surface is required in order to have manageable samples for both in vitro and...

The design of bioceramicscaffolds, i.e. artificial structures employed as temporary templates for cell proliferation, is a crucial issue in bone tissue reconstruction and regeneration. An ideal scaffold should be highly porous and bioactive. Additionally, a resistant and permeable surface is required in order to have manageable samples. The product...

A fundamental issue for the restoration of bone defects according to a tissue engineering approach is the development of highly porous bioactive scaffolds. The polymer burning out method is widely employed to fabricate bioceramic scaffolds because of its versatility, simplicity and low cost. However, the resulting scaffolds may suffer low porosity...

The design of bioceramic scaffolds, i.e. artificial structures employed as temporary templates for cell proliferation, is a crucial issue in bone tissue reconstruction and regeneration. An ideal scaffold should be highly porous and bioactive. Additionally, a resistant and permeable surface is required in order to have manageable samples. The produc...

Bioactive-glass-derived scaffolds are crucial in bone tissue engineering since they act as temporary templates for tissue regrowth, providing structural support to the cells in a resulting3Darchitecture. However, manyissues remain open with regard to their design. On the one hand, bioceramic scaffolds should be bioactive, highly porous and should p...

Bioglass® 45S5 is widely used in biomedical applications due to its ability to bond to bone and even to soft tissues. The sintering ability of Bioglass® powders is a key factor from a technological point of view, since its govern the production of advanced devices, ranging from highly porous scaffolds to functionalized coatings. Unfortunately this...

Over the past few decades, a variety of models have been proposed in order to investigate the grain growth kinetics and the development of crystallographic textures in polycrystalline materials. In particular, a full understanding of the microstructure evolution is a key issue for ceramic systems, since their mechanical or thermal behaviour is inti...