The Correlation of Surfactant Concentrations on the Properties of Mesoporous Bioactive Glass

Bioactive glass (BG), a potential biomaterial, has received increasing attention since the discovery of its superior bioactivity. One of the main research objectives is to improve the bioactive property of BGs; therefore, surfactant-derived mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were developed to provide a high specific surface area for achieving higher bioactivity. In this study, various concentrations of typical triblock F127 surfactant were used to manipulate the morphology, specific surface area, and bioactivity of MBG particles. Two typical morphologies of smooth (Type I) and wrinkled (Type II) spheres were observed, and the population of Type II particles increased with an increase in the surfactant concentration. A direct correlation between specific surface area and bioactivity was observed by comparing the data obtained using the nitrogen adsorption-desorption method and in vitro bioactive tests. Furthermore, the optimal surfactant concentration corresponding to the highest bioactivity revealed that the surfactant aggregated to form Type II particles when the surface concentration was higher than the critical micelle concentration, and the high population of Type II particles may reduce the specific surface area because of the loss of bioactivity. Moreover, the formation mechanism of SP-derived MBG particles is discussed.