Investigation of bioactivity, biocompatibility and thermal behavior of sol–gel silica glass containing a high PEG percentage

• Published in: Materials Science & Engineering C Vol. 61; pp. 51 - 55
• Main Authors: Catauro, M., Renella, R.A., Papale, F., Vecchio Ciprioti, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.04.2016
• Subjects: Bioactivity; Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; Dental materials; Fourier transforms; Glass - chemistry; Humans; Infrared spectroscopy; Materials Testing; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicon dioxide; Silicon Dioxide - chemistry; SiO2/PEG organic/inorganic hybrid nanocomposites; Sol–gel; TG/DTA; Thermal properties; Biocompatibility; Bioactivity; TG/DTA; Sol–gel; SiO2/PEG organic/inorganic hybrid nanocomposites; SiO/PEG organic/inorganic hybrid nanocomposites
• ISSN: 0928-4931; 1873-0191
• DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2015.11.077

SiO2/PEG organic–inorganic hybrid materials, which contain 60 or 70 weight percentage of PEG, were synthesized by the sol–gel technique. The materials were characterized and subjected to various tests to assess their application in the biomedical field. The evaluation of their morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms the homogeneity of the samples on the nanometer scale. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated that the two components of the hybrids (SiO2 and PEG) are linked by hydrogen bonds. This feature makes them class I hybrids. Simultaneous thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) was used to investigate their thermal behavior and to establish the best temperatures for their pre-treatment. The fundamental properties that a material must have to be used in the biomedical field are biocompatibility and bioactivity. The formation of a hydroxyapatite layer was observed on the hybrid surface by SEM/EDX and FTIR after soaking in simulated body fluid. This indicates that the materials are able to bond to bone tissue. Moreover, the biocompatibility of SiO2/PEG hybrids was assessed by performing WST-8 cytotoxicity tests on fibroblast cell NIH 3T3 after 24h of exposure. The cytotoxicity tests highlight that the cell viability is affected by the polymer percentage. The results showed that the synthesized materials were bioactive and biocompatible. Therefore, the results obtained are encouraging for the use of the obtained hybrids in dental or orthopedic applications. [Display omitted] •SiO2/PEG hybrid biomaterials synthesized by sol–gel method at high PEG percentage•Chemical, thermal and morphological characterization of hybrid materials•Biological characterizations with WST-8 cytotoxicity tests•Bioactivity characterizations of hybrid materials with high PEG percentage