Zinc containing borate glasses and glass-ceramics: Search for biomedical applications

Abstract

Ternary soda lime borate glass and samples with ZnO replacing CaO up to 10mol%were prepared and studied for their bone bonding ability. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectra of the prepared glasses before and after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), for one or two weeks, showed the appearance of calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite (HA)) which is an indication of bone bonding ability. X-ray diffraction patterns were measured for the glasses and indicated the presence of small peaks related to hydroxyapatite in the samples immersed in SBF. The glasses were heat treated with controlled two-step regime to convert them to their corresponding glass-ceramic derivatives. FTIR and X-ray diffraction measurements of the glass-ceramic samples (before and after immersion in SBF) confirmed the appearance of HA which is influenced by ZnO content. The overall data are explained on the basis of current views about the corrosion behaviour of borate glasses including hydrolysis and direct dissolution mechanism.