Characteristics of Bioactive Glass Produced with Phosphate Rock from Dange in Sokoto State

Abstract

Bioactive glasses are expensive common implant materials due to lack of local production create financial burden. Facile approaches involving the use of local sourced available low cost materials substitutes are a necessity for bioactive glass production in dental and bone regeneration therapy. The utilization of phosphate rock from Dange in Sokoto state in the production of bioactive glass is carried out in this research. Phosphate rock samples were collected and beneficiated for chemical composition. Quaternary SiO2-Na2O-CaO-P2O5 bioactive glass was prepared by the conventional melt quenched method from local source phosphate rock and sand. The glass material obtained was subjected to immersion studies in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 21 days. The surface morphology of the glass before and after immersion in SBF was studied using SEM, while pH analysis was used to monitor changes on the glass surface in SBF solution. FTIR was used to confirm apatite formation on the material. Results showed that the concentration of Ca, P and C increased on the surface of the glass sample as immersion time increased, which was attributed to the formation of carbonated hydroxyapatite (HCA). The material shows ability to bond to bone making it a promising material for bone repair; therefore, phosphate rock obtained from Dange in Sokoto State, North-West, Nigeria could serve as a useful and viable low cost material for production of large scale bioactive glass for commercialization.