Resorbable macroporous bioactive glass scaffold and method of manufacture

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold comprising approximately 24-45% CaO, 34-50% SiO 2 , 0-25% Na 2 O, 5-17% P 2 O 5 , 0-5% MgO and 0-1% CaF 2 by mass percent, produced by mixing with pore forming agents and specified heat treatments.

1 . A method of manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold comprising the steps of:
 creating a mixture comprising by mass percent approximately 24-45% CaO, 34-50% SiO 2 , 0-25% Na 2 O, 5-17% P 2 O 5 , 0-5% MgO and 0-1% CaF 2 ;   melting said mixture at a temperature ranging approximately from 1380° C. to 1480° C.;   cooling, crushing and sieving said mixture to obtain glass powders having granularity of approximately 40-300 microns;   adding into said 40-300 micron glass powders by mass percent approximately 20-70% of at least one pore forming agent and approximately 1-5% of a 5-10% solution of polyvinyl alcohol adhesive to form a composition;   pressing said composition of said 40-300 micron glass powders, said at least one pore forming agent and said polyvinyl alcohol adhesive into dies to produce shaped pellets under a pressure of approximately 2-20 MPa; and   sintering the pellets under temperatures ranging from approximately 750 to 900° C. for a period of approximately 1-5 hours.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the granularity of the said pore-forming agents is chosen to be between approximately 50-600 microns. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one pore forming agent is chosen from the group of pore forming agents consisting of polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, paraffin and polystyrene-divinylbenzene.