# Preparation of Bifunctional Orthosilicophosphate MgO‐CaO‐ZnO‐P2O5‐SiO2 Glasses: In Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity and Osteoblast Gene Expression Behavior

## TL;DR

Scientists created a new type of glass that kills bacteria and promotes bone growth by releasing ions, making it useful for biomedical applications.

## Contribution

The paper introduces bifunctional ZnO-containing orthosilicophosphate glasses with antibacterial and osteogenic properties.

## Key findings

- ZnO-containing SPGs show antibacterial activity with bacterial counts reduced by over 5 orders of magnitude.
- The glasses upregulate osteogenic markers due to the release of inorganic ions.
- ZnO-containing SPGs have a unique glass network structure without long-chain units.

## Abstract

Phosphate and phosphate invert glasses contain various elements, with a wide range of compositions. Recently, our group reported orthosilicophosphate glasses (SPGs) and the glass network structure composed of orthophosphates and orthosilicates crosslinked by cations. ZnO is an intermediate oxide that improves the chemical durability of glass. Additionally, Zn2+ ions exhibit antibacterial activity and stimulate bone formation. In this work, ZnO‐containing SPGs are prepared for biomedical applications. The glasses are mainly composed of PO4, SiO4, MgO4, and ZnO4 orthotetrahedral structures. The ZnO‐containing SPGs exhibit excellent antibacterial activity, with bacterial counts > 5 orders of magnitude lower than that of the control. Meanwhile, ZnO‐containing SPGs have mild inhibitory effects on cell proliferation by Zn2+ ions; however, they exhibit significant upregulation of osteogenic markers compared with the control owing to the release of inorganic ions from the glasses. The ZnO‐containing SPGs prepared in this work exhibit bifunctional properties suitable for biomedical applications. They serve as bioadaptive materials capable of controlling gene expression by releasing therapeutic ions.

Bifunctional ZnO‐containing orthosilicophosphate glasses (SPGs) composed mainly of orthotetrahedral groups with the unique glass network structure without long‐chain units are prepared via melt‐quenching. The glasses exhibit excellent antibacterial activity and upregulate the expression of osteogenic markers by releasing inorganic ions. They can be used as bioadaptive materials to control gene expression.