Mechanical and biological properties of bioactive bone cement containing silica glass powder

Silica glass powder (SG-P) made by a fusing-quenching method was added as a second filler to a bioactive bone cement consisting of MgO-CaO-SiO2-P2O5-CaF2 apatite and wollastonite containing glass-ceramic powder (AW-P) and bisphenol-a-glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA)-based resin, to achieve a higher mechanical strength and better handling properties in use. Five types of cement were used, containing different weight ratios of AW-P/SG-P (Group 1 = 100/0; Group 2 = 75/25; Group 3 = 50/50; Group 4 = 25/75; and Group 5 = 0/100) as filler, to evaluate the effect of SG-P content on the biological, mechanical, and handling properties. The total proportion of filler added to the cements was 85% w/w. The compressive, bending, and tensile strengths and fracture toughness of the cements increased with SG-P content. The viscosity of cements also increased with SG-P content, and every cement could be handled manually. The cements were evaluated in vivo by packing the intramedullary canals of rat tibiae. An affinity index was calculated for each cement; this was the length of bone directly apposed to cement expressed as a percentage of the total length of the cement surface. Histological examination of implanted tibiae for up to 26 weeks showed that the affinity indices decreased with SG-P content and that those of all the cement groups increased with time. At 26 weeks, Groups 1 and 2 had almost identical affnity indices (79% and 75%; no significant difference) but those of the other groups remained at <50%. Group 2 had better mechanical and handling properties than Group 1, and an SG-P content in the filler of no more than 25% w/w did not interfere strongly with the bioactivity of the cement.