Containerless-Processing Bioactive Glass for Tissue Regeneration and Disease Therapy

Bioactive glass, due to its excellent bioactivity and tunable functionality, has become a key material in the field of tissue repair. However, conventional preparation techniques are limited by the challenges in compositional design, process contamination, and structural non-uniformity, thus hindering precise functional design of bioactive glass. Containerless processing, with non-contact processing, rapid solidification of deeply undercooled melts, and compatibility under extreme conditions, offers a novel pathway for the innovative preparation of bioactive glass. In this review, the key bottlenecks of traditional techniques for preparing bioactive glass are systematically summarized, and the core principles of containerless technology and multidimensional advantages in glass composition and function design are introduced. Furthermore, the design strategies of containerless-processing bioactive glass (CPBG) are particularly emphasized and thoroughly presented in three application directions. Finally, the critical technical challenges encountered in CPBG are identified, and the perspectives based on current experimental breakthroughs are further discussed. Although containerless technology is widely applied in optics and other fields, the research of CPBG is still in the early stages. This work is presented as the first comprehensive review that introduces the development status of CPBG, effectively bridging the gap between advanced glass technology and biomedical engineering applications.