Physico-chemical and in vitro biological evaluation of strontium/calcium silicophosphate glass

Strontium is known to reduce bone resorption and stimulate bone formation. Incorporation of strontium into calcium phosphate bioceramics has been widely reported. In this work, calcium and calcium/strontium silicophosphate glasses were synthesized from the sol-gel process and their rheological, thermal, and in vitro biological properties were studied and compared to each other. The results showed that the gel viscosity and thus the rate of gel formation increased by using strontium in glass composition and by increasing aging temperature. In strontium-containing glass, the crystallization temperature increased and the type of the crystallized phase was different to that of strontium-free glass. Both glasses favored precipitation of calcium phosphate layer when they were soaked in simulated body fluid; however strontium seemed to retard the rate of precipitation slightly. The in vitro biodegradation rate of the strontium/calcium silicophosphate glass was higher than that of strontium-free one. The cell culture experiments carried out using rat calvaria osteoblasts showed that the incorporation of strontium into the glass composition stimulated proliferation of the cells and enhanced their alkaline phosphatase activity, depending on cell culture period.