Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) are a special subclass of bioactive
glasses (BGs), which have held great promise in biomedicine. Compared to meltderived BGs, MBGs exhibit higher bioactivity (apatite-forming capability) due to
highly ordered nanoscale pores (2 to 50 nm) in their structure. The size and shape of
well-ordered pores of MBGs depend on structure-directing agents (e.g., CTAB,
Pluronic F-123, and Pluronic F-127) used during their sol-gel synthesis process.
Having a mesoporous structure, MBGs provide great opportunities in tissue
engineering and drug delivery applications. Although MBGs have been mainly
explored for managing hard tissue injuries (e.g., bone defects), recent studies indicate
their usefulness in soft tissue healing as well. In this regard, MBGs can be utilized for
tissue reconstruction in different forms, including fine powders, granules, and
scaffolds. In addition, MBGs have been found suitable vehicles for the delivery of a
wide range of chemicals, bioactive molecules, and pharmaceutical drugs. Loading and
delivery of antibacterial (e.g., antibiotics), pro-angiogenic, and anti-inflammatory
substances are commonly being performed using MBGs for improved and accelerated
tissue repair and regeneration. Furthermore, MBGs are regarded as promising DDSs for
localized delivery of anticancer drugs. Currently, it is feasible to make MBGs as smart
drug delivery systems (DDSs) with the help of chemical engineering approaches; for
example, opening and closing MBGs’ pores are achievable by stimuli-responsive
molecular gates. With the invention of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology,
MBGs were successfully incorporated into polymeric inks to generate potent tissue
substitutes capable of simultaneous tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Anticancer effects, Bioactive glasses (BGs), Bioactivity, Biocompatibility, Bone tissue engineering (BTE), Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), Drug delivery systems, Pluronic F123, Pluronic F-127, Polymeric foam replication, Pro-angiogenesis, Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), Scaffolds, Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), Soft tissue engineering, Structure-directing agents, Tissue repair, Tissue engineering, Three-dimensional (3D) printing, Wound healing.
