Sol-Gel Synthesis and Characterization of Hybrid Materials for Biomedical Applications

“Biomaterials” are able to interact with human tissue and body fluids to treat, improve, or replace anatomical elements of the human body, without adverse reactions in the host organism. However, it is not currently possible to avoid the early failure of implants, because a good combination of properties (mechanical, chemical, and tribological) and biocompatibility of the materials has not been yet achieved. Bioactive glasses constitute a promising class of bioactive materials for bone repair and substitution. They have the capability of bonding with the living bone by forming a hydroxyapatite layer on their surface with a composition equivalent to that of the mineral phase of bones. The biological properties of bioglasses are influenced by their composition and by the synthesis method as well. An ideal method to prepare a bioglass is the sol-gel technique, a versatile synthesis process. The process involves the transition of a system from mostly colloidal liquid (‘sol’) into a solid ‘gel’. The sol-gel method was employed to synthesize many materials widely used in biomedical implants such as hip and knee prostheses, heart valves. Among the products of this synthesis process are ceramic and glassy materials as carriers for drug release in many biomedical applications has been extensively reported. Nanoparticles are interesting products prepared by the sol-gel method for biomedical applications, with particular reference to the cancer therapy.