Effect of Alcohol on Bioactivity of Glasses

One of the CaO,SiO(2)-based bioactive glasses(5OCaO･ 5OSiO (2) in mol%) were soaked for various periods in a simulated body fluid(SBF) with or without containing alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol. Effect of the alcohols was investigated on the apatite formation on the glass surface with thin-film X-ray diffraction, FT-IR reflection spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Under the presence of alcohols up to 0.1mol/l in the SBF an apatite layer was formed on the glass, while it consisted of crystallites similar in morphology but larger in size than that found for the SBF without the alcohols. It was concluded that the alcohols little influenced the the apatite forming ability of the CaO,SiO(2)-based glasses.