Imaging physicochemical reactions occurring at the pore surface in binary bioactive glass foams by micro ion beam analysis.

In this work, the physicochemical reactions occurring at the surface of bioactive sol−gel derived 3D glass scaffolds via a complete PIXE characterization were studied. 3D glass foams in the SiO2−CaO system were prepared by sol−gel route. Samples of glass scaffolds were soaked in biological fluids for periods up to 2 days. The surface changes were characterized using particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) associated to Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), which are efficient methods to perform quantitative chemical maps. Elemental maps of major and trace elements at the glass/biological fluids interface were obtained at the micrometer scale for every interaction time. Results revealed interconnected macropores and physicochemical reactions occurring at the surface of pores. The micro-PIXE-RBS characterization of the pores/biological fluids interface shows the glass dissolution and the rapid formation of a Ca rich layer with the presence of phosphorus that came from biological fluids. After 2 days,...