Bioactive Nanocomposites Containing Silicate Phases for Bone Replacement and Regeneration

Engineered scaffolds made from synthetic or natural biomaterials are essential elements in bone tissue engineering approaches. Numerous biomaterials are being used to fabricate scaffolds, including glasses, ceramics, metals, polymers, and their composites. Many of these scaffold structures are similar to the hierarchical bone structure; however, several challenges in the design, fabrication, and characterization of scaffolds remain in order to fulfill all requirements for bone tissue engineering applications. Nanostructures represent a very important consideration when developing composite scaffolds that mimic the nanofeatures of bone consisting of inorganic-organic structures on the nanoscale. In this chapter, a complete overview of the technology, characterization, and application of nanoparticles and nanofibrous silicate materials, including bioactive glasses, silica, and clay, in the context of bone tissue scaffold development, is presented. Also, the physicochemical, mechanical, and biological advantages of incorporating nanoscale bioactive glasses, silica, and clay in nanocomposites are discussed with emphasis on recently developed nanocomposites based on nanoscale silicate inclusions and biopolymer matrices.