Bioactivity and degradability of hybrids nano-composites materials with great application as bone tissue substitutes

Abstract In this work, hybrids with great application as bioactive materials having different compositions based on siloxane network were prepared. In vitro bioactivity and in vitro degradability tests were carried out in the materials by soaking them into simulated body fluid (SBF) and into phosphate buffer solution (PBS) to prove their apatite-forming ability and to show their degradation process, respectively. In both in vitro tests, measurements of pH and loss weight were made to observe bioactivity and degradation processes. To prove growth of HA, the materials were characterized through X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that some samples have better bioactivity than others. It was found that the incorporation of CaO component into the network of the materials results in an increase of the apatite-forming ability in SBF. Moreover, during the degradation tests, all the samples presented weight loss, especially the ones that contain CaO.