Correlation between Structure and Properties in Melt Cooled and Mesoporous Bioglasses containing Boron using Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Since their discovery by Larry Hench in 1969, bioglasses have been increasingly used in osteoinductive powders, scaffolds, and even monolithic pieces.From the original composition of bioglass (45S5), first implanted in humans to replace ear bones, numerous biosilicates have been synthesized to address problems related to the natural ageing of the bones (e.g. osteoporosis). Among the promising bioglasses are included those containing boron, which has been shown to affect bioactivity in mechanisms of embryogenesis, bone growth and psychomotor skills. In order to optimize the performance of boron-containing biosilicates, it is essential to determine how the structural properties and functions are influenced. The goal of this project, it is explore the potential of solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with 11B to analyze the structure of biosilicates.
The delivery of phosphorus in the form of orthophosphate is crucial for vital processes such as osteogenesis and embryogenesis in implants. In addition, boron when introduced into melt-prepared borosilicate glasses tends to increase overall network connectivity, at certain composition leading to phosphate immobilization via the formation of B-O-P linkages. Current results indicate that this detrimental mechanism is absent in mesoporous bioglasses prepared by the sol-gel method. A current focus of my project is the structural characterization of such systems by multinuclear NMR methods, with the goal of using the insights for the design design of new, optimized materials.