In vitro study of manganese-doped bioactive glasses for bone regeneration

• Novel bioactive glasses doped with manganese were prepared.
• Mn-doped bioactive glasses were not cytotoxic towards human MG-63 osteoblasts.
• The Mn introduction promotes the expression of ALP and bone morphogenetic proteins.
• Mn-doped glass may be a promising material for bone regeneration procedures.

A glass belonging to the system SiO2–P2O5–CaO–MgO–Na2O–K2O was modified by introducing two different amounts of manganese oxide (MnO). Mn-doped glasses were prepared by melt and quenching technique and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation and energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS) analysis. In vitro bioactivity test in simulated body fluid (SBF) showed a slight decrease in the reactivity kinetics of Mn-doped glasses compared to the glass used as control; however the glasses maintained a good degree of bioactivity. Mn-leaching test in SBF and minimum essential medium (MEM) revealed fluctuating trends probably due to a re-precipitation of Mn compounds during the bioactivity process. Cellular tests showed that all the Mn-doped glasses, up to a concentration of 50 μg/cm2 (μg of glass powders/cm2 of cell monolayer), did not produce cytotoxic effects on human MG-63 osteoblasts cultured for up to 5 days. Finally, biocompatibility tests demonstrated a good osteoblast proliferation and spreading on Mn-doped glasses and most of all that the Mn-doping can promote the expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and some bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs).

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