Influence of granule size on the reactions of a bioactive glass for repair of bone defects.

the present work analyses the in-vivo behaviour of a bioactive glass that can be used for osteostimulation in bone defects. The glass called SP53P4 was implanted as granules of 3 different sizes in pockets created in rabbit' dorsal muscles to investigate the reactions in the biological fluids. Before the implantation the granules were coated with a layer of gold on one side in order to obtain two sides with different permeability in the same granule and thus two different velocities of diffusion. After 2 months bone and granules were explanted and processed for observation under Scanning Electron Microscope with an X_ray microprobein ordet to study the changed morphology of the granules and the distribution of the elements. The granules were partly leached but there were no sign of total glass breakdown and resorption