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Hyperthermia is a technique for destroying cancer cells which involves the exposition of body's tissue to a controlled heat, normally between 41℃ and 46℃. It has been reported that ferro- or ferrimagnetic materials can heat locally, if they are placed (after being implanted) under an alternating magnetic field, damaging only tumoral cells and not the healthy ones. The power loss produced by the magnetic materials can be dissipated in the form of heat. This phenomenon has to be regulated in order to obtain a controlled temperature inside the tissues. The material that was produced and characterized in this work is composed of two phases: a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix in which a ferrimagnetic biocompatible/bioactive glass ceramic is dispersed. This composite material is intended to be applied as bone filler for the hyperthermic treatment of bone tumors. The ferrimagnetic bioactive glass-ceramic belongs to the system SiO 2 -Na 2 O-CaO-P 2 O 5 -FeO-Fe 2 O 3 and contains magnetite (FeO*Fe 2 O 3 ) inside an amorphous bioactive residual phase. The composite material possesses structural, magnetic and bioactivity properties. The structural ones are conferred by PMMA which acts as filler for the bone defect or its damaged area. Bioactivity is conferred by the composition of the residual amorphous phase of the glass-ceramic and magnetic properties are conferred by magnetite crystals embedded in the bioactive glass-ceramic. The characterization involved the following tests: morphological and chemical characterization (scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersion spectrometry-micro computed tomography analysis), calorimetric tests and mechanical test (compression and flexural four point test). In vitro assessment of biological behavior will be the object of the part II of this work., (© The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.)

One of the major challenges of hard tissue engineering research focuses on the development of scaffolds that can match the mechanical properties of the host bone and resorb at the same rate as the bone is repaired. The aim of this work was the synthesis and characterization of a resorbable phosphate glass, as well as its application for the fabrication of three dimensional (3-D) scaffolds for bone regeneration. The glass microstructure and behaviour upon heating were analysed by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and hot stage microscopy. The glass solubility was investigated according to relevant ISO standards using distilled water, simulated body fluid (SBF) and Tris-HCl as testing media. The glass underwent progressive dissolution over time in all three media but the formation of a hydroxyapatite-like layer was also observed on the samples soaked in SBF and Tris-HCl, which demonstrated the bioactivity of the material. The glass powder was used to fabricate 3-D macroporous bone-like glass-ceramic scaffolds by adopting polyethylene particles as pore formers: during thermal treatment, the polymer additive was removed and the sintering of glass particles was allowed. The obtained scaffolds exhibited high porosity (87 vol.%) and compressive strength around 1.5 MPa. After soaking for 4 months in SBF, the scaffolds mass loss was 76 wt.% and the pH of the solution did not exceed the 7.55 value, thereby remaining in a physiological range. The produced scaffolds, being resorbable, bioactive, architecturally similar to trabecular bone and exhibiting interesting mechanical properties, can be proposed as promising candidates for bone repair applications.

Fabrication of 3-D highly porous, bioactive, and mechanically competent scaffolds represents a significant challenge of bone tissue engineering. In this work, Bioglass®-derived glass-ceramic scaffolds actually fulfilling this complex set of requirements were successfully produced through the sponge replication method. Scaffold processing parameters and sintering treatment were carefully designed in order to obtain final porous bodies with pore content (porosity above 70 %vol), trabecular architecture and mechanical properties (compressive strength up to 3 MPa) analogous to those of the cancellous bone. Influence of the Bioglass® particles size on the structural and mechanical features of the sintered scaffolds was considered and discussed. Relationship between porosity and mechanical strength was investigated and modeled. Three-dimensional architecture, porosity, mechanical strength and in vitro bioactivity of the optimized Bioglass®-derived scaffolds were also compared to those of CEL2-based glass-ceramic scaffolds (CEL2 is an experimental bioactive glass originally developed by the authors at Politecnico di Torino) fabricated by the same processing technique, in an attempt at understanding the role of different bioactive glass composition on the major features of scaffolds prepared by the same method.

Highly porous bioresorbable glass-ceramic scaffolds were prepared via sponge replication method by using an open-cell polyurethane foam as a template and phosphate-based glass powders. The glass, belonging to the P2O5-SiO2-CaO-MgO-Na2O-K2O system, was synthesized by a melting-quenching route, ground, and sieved to obtain powders with a grain size of less than 30 μm. A slurry containing glass powders, polyvinyl alcohol, and water was prepared to coat the polymeric template. The removal of the polymer and the sintering of the glass powders were performed by a thermal treatment, in order to obtain an inorganic replica of the template structure. The structure and properties of the scaffold were investigated from structural, morphological, and mechanical viewpoints by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, density measurements, image analysis, and compressive tests. The scaffolds exhibited a trabecular architecture that closely mimics the structure of a natural spongy bone. The solubility of the porous structures was assessed by soaking the samples in acellular simulated body fluid (SBF) and Tris-HCl for different time frames and then by assessing the scaffold weight loss. As far as the test in SBF is concerned, the nucleation of hydroxyapatite on the scaffold trabeculae demonstrates the bioactivity of the material. Biological tests were carried out using human bone marrow stromal cells to test the osteoconductivity of the material. The cells adhered to the scaffold struts and were metabolically active; it was found that cell differentiation over proliferation occurred. Therefore, the produced scaffolds, being biocompatible, bioactive, resorbable, and structurally similar to a spongy bone, can be proposed as interesting candidates for bone grafting.