Synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid composite and its thermal conversion to porous bioactive glass monolith

摘要

We report the synthesis and bioactivity studies of 3-dimensional macro-porous material produced by thermal treatment of organic-inorganic hybrid composite. This is prepared by sol-gel processing of co-poly(methylmethacrylate (MMA)-vinyltriethoxysilane (VTS)) with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), calcium nitrate and zinc nitrate, ([CH_2C(CH_3)(CO_2CH_3)]_(0.8n)-[CH_2-CH(Si(OEt)_3]_(0.2n)-SiO_2-CaO-ZnO) (1). Thermal treatment of this polymer at 600 deg C yielded macro-porous bioglass monolith, with pore size distribution between 1 and 5 mum and showed excellent bone bonding ability in simulated body fluid. The ratio of VTS:MMA in the organic polymer can easily be controlled. Since the VTS is the bonding agent, the amount of VTS in the co-polymer can be utilized to increase or decrease the porosity of the hybrid composite. This may be a convenient approach for preparation of bioglass scaffolds especially in tissue engineering of bone.