Resorbable macroporous bioactive glass scaffold and method of manufacture

1. A method of manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold comprising the steps of:

creating a mixture consisting essentially of by mass percent about 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 the mixture at a temperature ranging from about 1380° C. to 1480° C.;

cooling, crushing and sieving the mixture to obtain glass powders having granularity of greater than 100 microns and up to 300 microns;

adding into the glass powders by mass percent about 20-70% of at least one pore forming agent and about 1-5% of a 5-10% solution of polyvinyl alcohol adhesive to form a composition;

pressing the composition of the glass powders, the at least one pore forming agent and the polyvinyl alcohol adhesive into dyes to produce shaped pellets under a pressure of approximately 2-20 MPa; and

sintering the pellets under temperatures ranging from about 750° C. to about 900° C. for a period of about 1-5 hours, thereby manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold having interconnected pores.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the granularity of the pore forming agents is chosen to be between about 50-600 microns.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 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.

4. A method of manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold comprising the steps of:

creating a mixture consisting essentially of, by mass percent about 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 the mixture at a temperature ranging from about 1380° C. to about 1480° C.;

cooling, crushing and sieving the mixture to obtain glass powders having granularity of about 150-300 microns;

adding into the 150-300 micron glass powders by mass percent about 20-70% of at least one pore forming agent and about 1-5% of a 5-10% solution of polyvinyl alcohol adhesive to form a composition;

pressing the composition of the 150-300 micron glass powders, the at least one pore forming agent and the polyvinyl alcohol adhesive into dyes to produce shaped pellets under a pressure of about 2-20 MPa; and

sintering the pellets under temperatures ranging from about 750 to about 900° C. for a period of about 1-5 hours,

thereby manufacturing a resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold having interconnected pores.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the granularity of the pore forming agents is chosen to be between about 50-600 microns.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the 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.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has porosity in the range from 40% to 80%.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glass powders in the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold have pore size from 50 to 600 microns.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has a compressive strength at 1-16 MPa.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold is capable of releasing soluble silicon ions with precipitation of bone-like hydroxyl-apatite crystallites on a surface of the scaffold, following immersion into simulated body fluids (SBF).

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has a degradation rate of approximately 2-30% following immersion into simulated body fluids (SBF) for 5 days.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has porosity in the range from 40% to 80%.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the glass powders in the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold have pore size from 50 microns to 600 microns.

14. The method of claim 4 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has a compressive strength at 1-16 MPa.

15. The method of claim 4 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold is capable of releasing soluble silicon ions with precipitation of bone-like hydroxyl-apatite crystallites on a surface of the scaffold, following immersion into simulated body fluids (SBF).

16. The method of claim 4 , wherein the manufactured resorbable, macroporous bioactive glass scaffold has a degradation rate of approximately 2-30% following immersion into simulated body fluids (SBF) for 5 days.