The effects of the magnesium doping of binary glass (Si–Ca) on particle texture, on the biomineralization process in simulated body fluid (SBF) as well as on drug loading and release were examined. For this purpose, magnesium-doped binary bioglass nanoparticles (85SiO₂–(15 − x)CaO–xMgO, with x = 1, 3, 5 and 10 mol%) were prepared by a base catalysed sol–gel method. N₂ adsorption isotherm analysis showed an enhancement in specific surface area as the Mg molar fraction increased. In addition, the FTIR spectra of the samples after soaking in SBF for various periods of time confirmed the presence of new chemical bonds related to the apatite phase, as was also confirmed by SEM observations. XRD patterns of the samples after soaking revealed that the crystallization to form a more stable apatite-like phase was hindered with increasing magnesium content in the glass composition. Furthermore, it was proved that the kinetics of drug release improved with increasing magnesium content. The porosity and the specific surface area were found to be responsible for this improvement.

Multifunctionality can be achieved for bioactive glasses by endowing them with multiple other properties along with bioactivity. One way to address this topic is by doping these glasses with therapeutic metallic ions. In this work, we put under investigation a series of bioactive glasses doped with tantalum. We aim to study the effect of tantalum, on the structure, bioactivity and antibacterial property of a ternary bioactive glass composition based on SiO₂-CaO-P₂O₅. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Electron Scanning Microscopy (SEM) were used to assess the structural and morphological properties of these glasses and monitor their changes after in vitro acellular bioactivity test. Antibacterial activity was tested against gram positive and negative bacteria. Characterization results confirmed the presence of calcium carbonate crystallites along with the amorphous silica matrix. The assessment of bioactivity in SBF indicated that all compositions showed a fast bioactive response after only six hours of immersion period. However, analytical characterization revealed that tantalum introduced a slight latency in hydroxyapatite deposition at higher concentrations (0.8-1 %mol). Antibacterial test showed that tantalum ions had an inhibition effect on the growth of E. coli and S. aureus. This effect was more pronounced in compositions where mol% of tantalum is superior to 0.4%. These results proved that tantalum could be used, in intermediate proportions, as a promising multifunctional dopant element in bioactive glasses for bone regeneration applications.

This review presents the strategic coupling of bioactive glasses with polyphenols for tissue engineering, detailing factors governing their interaction and highlighting promising in vitro and in vivo therapeutic results.