Electrospun cerium and gallium-containing silicate based 13-93 bioactive glass fibers for biomedical applications

Fibrous scaffolds have gained increasing attention in tissue engineering applications because of their high porosity, and surface area. In the current study cerium or gallium- containing silicate based 13-93 bioactive glass fibers were prepared using electrospinning approach. Effect of cerium and gallium substitution (up to 5 w%) on the in vitro bioactivity, pre-osteoblast cell response and antibacterial activity of the prepared fibers were assessed. Results revealed that, addition of cerium or gallium has no negative effect on bioactivity and hydroxyapatite forming ability of the glass in long term. The biocompatibility tests on MC3T3-E1 cells using XTT assay revealed no cytotoxicity of the cerium- or gallium-containing bioactive glass fibers. The fibers prepared in the study showed no antibacterial response to the gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. Fibrous scaffolds manufactured in the study may be considered for the use in soft tissue engineering applications in near future. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.