Preparation and characterization of macroporous sol-gel bioglass

Sol-gel bioglasses have many advantages comparing to melt-derived bioglasses. 3-D scaffold prepared by sol-gel method is a promising substrate material for bone tissue engineering. But, it is difficult to produce macroporous sol-gel bioglasses with pores larger than 100 μm. In this work, a series of macroporous bioglasses was produced by adding PEG particles into the sol as pore former. The mesoporous texture features of the samples were assessed through a nitrogen sorption technique. The macropore structure was collected by intrusion mercury porosimetry. In vitro tests showed that the samples had good bioactivity. Combining the sol-gel routine with the pore former might be a useful approach for preparation scaffolds with applications to the repair and reconstruction of damaged tissue.