Bioactive calcium silicates prepared by sol–gel routes mainly use calcium nitrate as the calcium precursor. However, the toxic nitrate ions are usually removed by calcination (i.e. 550 °C or over), which poses great challenge for the in situ preparation of inorganic/polymer composites, as polymer moieties could not survive such temperatures. In this study, we prepared 70Si30Ca (70 mol% SiO2 and 30 mol% CaO) bioactive glass at low temperatures where polymer could survive (i.e. 200 °C and 350 °C), and proposed to remove the residual nitrate ions through soaking. Deionized water and simulated body fluid (SBF) were employed as the soaking medium. The results showed that the residual nitrate ions could be removed as quickly as 0.5 h while maintain the bioactivity of the samples. This technique may open the possibility of preparing sol–gel derived bioactive glass/polymer hybrids in situ with reduced potential toxicity.The nitrate ion can be rapidly removed by soaking method for only 0.5 h.

Bioactive nanoparticles with controllable size and good colloidal stability were synthesized through surface modification of colloidal silica nanoparticles with Ca(OH)2 as the modifier. These modified nanoparticles showed good bioactivity, showing evidence of hydroxyapatite formation when incubated in simulated body fluid within 3 days. Comparison of bioactivity was made among different sized particles from nanoscale to microscale. It was found the bioactivity of these calcium modified colloidal silica particles generally decreased with particle size in the explored size range (40 nm particles showed bioactivity within 1 day). These particles were also found to be noncytotoxic but promote preosteoblast growth, thus making them promising bioactive additives for bone repair materials.Keywords: Bioactive nanoparticle; bioactivity; Ca(OH)2; colloidal silica; surface modification;

Mechanical properties are among the most concerned issues for artificial bone grafting materials. The scaffolds used for bone grafts are either too brittle (glass) or too weak (polymer), and therefore composite scaffolds are naturally expected as the solution. However, despite the intensive studies on composite bone grafting materials, there still lacks a material that could be matched to the natural cancellous bones. In this study, nanosized bioactive particles (BP) with controllable size and good colloidal stability were used to composite with gelatin, forming macroporous scaffolds. It was found that the mechanical properties of obtained composite scaffolds, in terms of elastic modulus, compressive strength, and strain at failure, could match to that of natural cancellous bones. This is ascribed to the good distribution of particle in matrix and strong interaction between particle and gelatin. Furthermore, the incorporation of BPs endues the composite scaffolds with bioactivity, forming HA upon reacting with simulated body fluid (SBF) within days, thus stimulating preosteoblasts attachment, growth, and proliferation in these scaffolds. Together with their good mechanical properties, these composite scaffolds are promising artificial bone grating materials.Keywords: bioactive nanoparticle; cancellous bone; composite scaffold; gelatin; mechanical property