Calcium Phosphate Glass (CPG): Potential as Biomaterial for Hard-Tissue Repair

Brow in his review of phosphate glasses reported that Schott et al developed phosphate glasses for achromatic optical elements about 100 years ago with the rationale that these glasses had low dispersion and relatively high refractive indices compared to silicate-based optical glasses. Alkaline earth phosphate glasses became of interest because of their transparency to ultraviolet light compared to silicate-based glasses. In the 1950s and recently, interest in phosphate glasses was mainly for their applications in industry (e.g., sequestering agents for hard water treatments and as dispersants for clay processing and pigment manufacturing, nuclear waste host, solid state electrolytes). Medical applications of biocompatible phosphate glasses are also being explored.