Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Phosphate Glasses
Delia S. Brauer
Otto Schott Institute, Friedrich Schiller University Jena,
Jena, Germany
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Phosphate glasses, as the name suggests, consist of phosphate (rather
than silicate or borosilicate) as the glass former. For example, calcium
phosphate glasses can have a composition similar to the mineral phase
of bone, which is a biological calcium phosphate (a hydroxycarbonate
apatite), which makes them an interesting material as a synthetic bone
graft [1]. In fact, phosphate glasses can dissolve completely in aqueous
solution, giving ionic species commonly found in the human body [1],
which offers various possibilities for their application as degradable
implant materials. Therapeutic ions such as strontium, zinc or fluoride
can be incorporated into the glass to be released upon degradation for
stimulation of bone growth and wound healing and for prevention of
infections, which can make phosphate glasses a very versatile biomaterial
for tissue regeneration.
