Bioactive Glasses 2017

Dear Colleagues,

For centuries, glass has played an important role in the practical and aesthetic aspects of our lives and culture. Some special types of glass have revolutionized medicine since Larry Hench invented 45S5 Bioglass^®, almost 50 years ago, at the University of Florida. This material was the first able to bond to bone, forming a tight interface, and launched our modern idea of biomaterials science. Many other bioactive glass compositions have been developed over the years, which have controllable degradation rates, so that glass implant dissolution can be closely matched to the rate of new bone formation. Bioactive glasses can be doped with trace quantities of metal elements that, once released, are known to be beneficial for healthy bone growth (e.g., Sr) or to elicit a therapeutic effect, such as antibacterial properties (e.g., Ag).

Recent advances in biomaterials processing have led to the creation of functional coatings, 3D porous scaffolds, fibrous constructs, and moldable implants with a range of mechanical properties suitable for the repair of both load-bearing and non-loaded bone. Furthermore, emerging applications of bioactive glasses in contact with soft tissues are increasingly attracting the interest of researchers. Recent work has shown the ability of bioactive glasses to promote angiogenesis, which is a critical requirement for promoting both bone and soft tissue regeneration, such as wound healing. Surface functionalization and incorporation in composite biomaterials are valuable strategies to develop bioactive glass-based systems for the local delivery of drugs and therapeutic biomolecules, which are key for the treatment of a number of diseases ranging from chronic infections to malignant tumors.

In summary, new and continuous advances in bioactive glass processing technologies and novel applications of biomedical glasses in tissue engineering and advanced therapy bring further honor to the long history of glass in medicine and open unexpected scenarios for patient’s treatment and rehabilitation.

It is, therefore, our immense pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for the Special Issue, “Bioactive Glasses 2017”. Full research articles, short communications and comprehensive review papers covering all aspects of design, processing, characterization, modelling and applications of bioactive glasses are welcome.

Francesco Baino
Aldo R. Boccaccini
Enrica Verné
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.