Compositional dependency on dissolution rate and cytocompatibility of phosphate-based glasses: Effect of B(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3) addition

The unique property of phosphate-based glasses and fibres to be completely dissolved in aqueous media is largely dependent on the glass composition. This article focuses on investigating the effect of replacing Na(2)O with 3 and 5 mol% Fe(2)O(3) on cytocompatibility, thermal and dissolution properties of P(2)O(5)–CaO–Na(2)O–MgO–B(2)O(3) glass system, where P(2)O(5) content was fixed at 45 mol%. The effect of increasing Fe(2)O(3) from 3 to 5 mol% on P(2)O(5)–CaO–Na(2)O–MgO glasses was also evaluated. The glass transition temperature, onset of crystallisation temperature and liquidus temperature were found to decrease with increasing Fe(2)O(3) content and the addition of B(2)O(3), while the thermal expansion values were found to decrease. The density of the glasses decreased with increasing Fe(2)O(3) content. However, an increase in the density was observed by the addition of 5 mol% B(2)O(3). The dissolution properties and mode of bulk glass and fibres were also examined which were found to decrease with increasing B(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3). However, it was found that the dissolution properties of the glasses containing both B(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3) were lower than only Fe(2)O(3) containing glasses. The in vitro cell culture studies using human osteoblast like (MG63) cell lines revealed that the glasses containing both B(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3) maintained and showed higher cell viability as compared to the only Fe(2)O(3) containing glasses. Glasses containing both B(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3) showed a pronounced effect on the dissolution rate of the glasses, which eventually improved the cytocompatibility properties of the glasses investigated.