Overview

• Researchers reported in ACS Nano that they formulated a printable bioglass by assembling oppositely charged silica particles with calcium and phosphate ions.
• The gel printed cleanly without organic plasticizers and was hardened by low-temperature sintering at about 1,300°F (700°C), avoiding the extreme heat typical of glass printing.
• In a rabbit skull-repair model, the new scaffold supported sustained bone cell growth longer than plain silica glass and nearly matched a commercial dental substitute after eight weeks.
• Early bone formation was faster with the commercial product, but most cells present at eight weeks had grown on the bio-glass scaffold, while plain glass showed little growth.
• The material exhibited self-healing printability and a compressive modulus of roughly 2.3 MPa, and the authors describe the method as a cost-efficient, “green” approach that remains at a preclinical stage.