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Bioceramics Based on Li-Modified Bioactive Glasses for Bone Tissue Regeneration
Mihai Fotu1, Adrian Ionuț Nicoară1,2, Ștefan Manolache3
1Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 10, 2026
Summary
Lithium-modified bioglass-ceramics show promise as bone substitutes. They offer improved mechanical strength, controlled degradation, and antibacterial properties for regenerative medicine applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Materials Chemistry
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Effective bone substitutes are crucial for regenerative medicine.
- Developing materials with enhanced mechanical and biological properties is an ongoing challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize lithium-modified bioglass-ceramics.
- To evaluate their structural, mechanical, and biological performance for bone tissue engineering.
Main Methods:
- Sol-gel synthesis of lithium-modified 47.5S5 silicate oxide system.
- Calcination, axial pressing, and sintering at 700 and 800 °C.
- Structural, mechanical, in vitro degradation, antibacterial, and cytocompatibility assessments.
Main Results:
- Successful incorporation of lithium confirmed by crystalline phase analysis (combeite, NaLiSiO4, Li2SiO3, calcium silicates).
- Improved densification, deformability, and compressive strength with increasing sintering temperature and lithium content.
- Enhanced resorbability, moderate antibacterial activity, and good cytocompatibility observed.
Conclusions:
- Lithium substitution positively impacts mechanical robustness and biological behavior of bioglass-ceramics.
- These materials are promising bioresorbable bone substitutes with controlled degradation.
- They are suitable for bone tissue engineering, offering durability, bioactivity, and antimicrobial function.
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