Phosphate Glass Porous Microspheres for Bone Tissue Regeneration Applications

The interest in use of Calcium phosphate (CaP) based glasses as resorbable implantable devices has been steadily increasing due to their unique properties, such as their chemical compositions which can resemble the mineral content of natural bone, controllable degradation profiles coupled with controlled ion release rates and their cytocompatibility [1]. This work focussed on developing both bulk and porous calcium phosphate microspheres with a range of porosity levels for potential use in bone repair and regeneration applications. The initial aim was to utilise the pores within the microspheres to contain stem cells and they could also be utilized to carry many other biological components such as drugs including small molecules, nucleic acids, proteins etc. This study also highlights the scale-up potential for manufacturing both bulk and porous microspheres from calcium phosphate-based glasses for alternate applications..