In vitro bioactivity and cytotoxicity of chemically treated glass fibers

samples of a commercial glass fiber fm？ (fiber max) were used to test the efficacy of a chemical sol-gel surface treatment to enhance their bioactivity. after treatment with tetraethoxysilane (teos), individual fiber samples were soaked into a simulated body fluid (sbf) solution, from which they were removed at intervals of 5 and 10 days. micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscopy (sem) analysis of samples chemically treated with teos revealed the formation of a hydroxyapatite (ha) coating layer after 5 days into sbf solution. fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (ftir) analyses confirmed that the coating layer has p-o vibration bands characteristic of ha. the in vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated using a direct contact test, minimum essential medium elution test (iso 10993-5) and mtt assay. fibers immersed in sbf and their extracts exhibited lower cytotoxicity than the controls not subjected to immersion, suggesting that sbf treatment improves the biocompatibility of the fiber.