Facile synthesis of hollow mesoporous bioactive glass sub-micron spheres with a tunable cavity size

This paper reports a facile method for fabricating hollow mesoporous bioactive glass sub-micron spheres (HMBGS) using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template agent in sol–gel process. The morphology, structure and particle size of HMBGS were investigated by various methods. The results indicated that using CTAB as the structure directing agent was in favor of preparing the HMBGS with hollow mesoporous structure, high specific surface area and relatively homogeneous particle size. The samples presented a process from hollow to solid and the particle size decreased as the CTAB concentrations increased. The unique structure and properties may turn HMBGS into a good candidate as a drug or gene carrier for bone tissue regeneration.