Synthesis of Silver-Containing Bioactive Glass Material by an Improved Sol–Gel Method

— A bioactive glass 60SiO 2 –31CaO–4P 2 O 5 –5Ag 2 O (mol %) has been synthesized by an improved sol-gel method. The main process includes the hydrolysis in a hot solvent system without using catalysts to form sol solution, and then the conversion of sol to gel based on the hydrothermal reaction in a shortened time. X-ray powder diffraction emphasizes the synthetic material containing an amorphous phase of glass, and crystalline phases of metallic silver (Ag) and silver oxide (Ag 2 O). The N 2 adsorption/desorption technique combined with FE-SEM, and TEM observations show that synthetic glass is a mesoporous material composed of quasi-spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of 11.5 nm. In vitro experiment in SBF solution confirmed the bioactivity of Ag-containing bioactive glass through the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) mineral layer, and also recorded the release of Ag-antibacterial agent from the silica network. The great benefit of this work is the use of an improved sol-gel method with shortening time and is environmentally friendly in the synthesis of bioactive glass.