Influences of acid catalysts on the microstructure, bioactivity and cytotoxicity of bioactive glass nanoparticles prepared by spray pyrolysis

Abstract Bioactive glasses have received considerable attention in the fields of medical and material science and have been applied in applications such as bone implants, tooth fillings, and drug carriers due to their high bioactivity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Numerous studies applying either conventional glass processes or the sol-gel method have employed Hench's protocol for the fabrication of bioactive glass. However, the effects of various acid catalysts when using spray pyrolysis to synthesize bioactive glass remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we synthesized bioactive glass nanoparticles using spray pyrolysis and then treated them with the acid catalysts hydrochloric acid, lactic acid and acetic acid. By characterizing the phase information and morphologies of the bioactive glass particles and examining their bioactivity and cytotoxicity, we found that the bioactive glass treated with hydrochloric acid yielded greater cell viability than the lactic acid- and acetic acid-treated specimens; the corresponding mechanisms are discussed in this paper.