The In Vitro Bioactivity, Degradation, and Cytotoxicity of Polymer-Derived Wollastonite-Diopside Glass-Ceramics

Ca-Mg silicates are receiving a growing interest in the field of bioceramics. In a previous study, wollastonite-diopside (WD) glass-ceramics were successfully prepared by a new processing route, consisting of the heat treatment of a silicone resin embedding reactive oxide particles and a Ca/Mg-rich glass. The in vitro degradation, bioactivity, and cell response of these new WD glass-ceramics, fired at 900–1100 °C for 1 h, as a function of the Ca/Mg-rich glass content, are the aim of this investigation The results showed that WD glass-ceramics from formulations comprising different glass contents (70–100% at 900 °C, 30% at 1100 °C) exhibit the formation of an apatite-like layer on their surface after immersion in SBF for seven days, thus confirming their surface bioactivity. The XRD results showed that these samples crystallized, mainly forming wollastonite (CaSiO(3)) and diopside (CaMgSi(2)O(6)), but combeite (Na(2)Ca(2)Si(3)O(9)) crystalline phase was also detected. Besides in vitro bioactivity, cytotoxicity and osteoblast adhesion and proliferation tests were applied after all characterizations, and the formulation comprising 70% glass was demonstrated to be promising for further in vivo studies.