Chemical durability of commercial silicate glasses. I. Material characterization

Six commercial silicate glasses; silica, sodalime silicate, two fiberglass compositions and two Bioglass® compositions were subjected to three solutions: distilled water, Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline solution and Ham's F-12 1x cell culture media under the exact experimental conditions that would be encountered during a cell culture study. For companion, a binary sodium silicate glass was also exposed. Weight loss, diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and potentiometric titration were used to determine the chemical evolution of the substrates during a typical period for cell culturing. The silica, sodalime silicate and high-silica fiberglass material showed only small changes in all cases except for differences in OH active site concentration. The bioglass compositions and the low-silica fiberglass exhibited solution-dependent dynamic surface chemistry. The sodium silicate was too dynamic for even the most aggressive buffering system. The purpose of this study was to elucidate cell behavior to be reported in a later paper.