Bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics

Bioactive materials are designed to induce a specific biological activity; in most cases the desired biological activity is one that will give strong bonding to bone. A range of materials has been assessed as being capable of bonding to bone, but this paper is solely concerned with bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics. Firstly, the structure and processing of glasses and glass-ceramics are described, as a basic knowledge is essential for the understanding of the development and properties of the bioactive materials. The effect of composition and structure on the bioactivity is then discussed, and it will be shown that bioactivity is associated with the formation of an apatite layer on the surface of the implant. A survey of mechanical performance demonstrates that the structure and mechanical properties of glass-ceramics depend upon whether the processing involves casting or sintering and that the strength and toughness of glass-ceramics are superior to those of glasses. Attempts to further improve the mechanical performance by the use of non-monolithic components, i.e. bioactive coatings on metal substrates and glass and glass-ceramic matrix composites, are also reviewed and are shown to have varying degrees of success. Finally, some miscellaneous applications, namely bioactive bone cements and bone fillers, are briefly covered.