Bioactive glass compositions suitable for repeated heat-treatments

The crystallization tendency for 30 experimental glasses in the system Na2O-K2O-MgO-CaO-B2O3-P2O5-SiO2 was studied with thermal methods, DTA, HSM and XRD. The glasses were also immersed into simulated body fluid for 8 and 72 hours. The formation of the silica-rich gel and calcium phosphate layer on the glasses were analyzed with SEM. The in vitro behavior and crystallization tendency for heat-treated glasses were then related. This information is essential for choosing glass compositions that can be manufactured to desired products with controlled bioactivity for different applications. In general, glasses with low alkali content can tolerate heat-treatment without crystallization but have less initial Si-gel formation ability and show less in vitro bioactivity than glasses with high alkali content.