Investigating the solubility and cytocompatibility of CaO-Na2O-SiO2/TiO2 bioactive glasses

This study aims to investigate the solubility of a series of titanium (TiO2)‐containing bioactive glasses and their subsequent effect on cell viability. Five glasses were synthesized in the composition range SiO2–Na2O–CaO with 5 mol % of increments TiO2 substituted for SiO2. Glass solubility was investigated with respect to (1) exposed surface area, (2) particle size, (3) incubation time, and (4) compositional effects. Ion release profiles showed that sodium (Na+) presented high release rates after 1 day and were unchanged between 7 and 14 days. Calcium (Ca2+) release presented a significant change at each time period and was also composition dependent, where a reduction in Ca2+ release is observed with an increase in TiO2 concentration. Silica (Si4+) release did not present any clear trends while no titanium (Ti4+) was released. Cell numbers were found to increase up to 44%, compared to the growing control population, with a reduction in particle size and with the inclusion of TiO2 in the glass composition. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 709–720, 2015.