As the only bioactive material that can bond with both hard tissues and soft
tissues, bioactive glass has become much important in the field of tissue
engineering. 13-93 bioactive glass scaffolds were fabricated via selective
laser sintering (SLS). It was focused on the effects of laser sintering on
microstructure and mechanical properties of the scaffolds. The experimental
results showed that the sintered layer gradually became dense with the laser
power increasing and then some defects occurred, such as macroscopic caves.
The optimum compressive strength and fracture toughness were 21.43?0.87 MPa
and 1.14?0.09 MPa.m1/2, respectively. In vitro bioactivity showed that there
was the bone-like apatite layer on the surface of the scaffolds after soaking
in simulated body fluid (SBF), which was further evaluated by Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Moreover, cell culture study showed
MG-63 cells adhered and spread well on the scaffolds, and proliferated with
increasing time in cell culture. These indicated excellent bioactivity and
biocompatibility of nano 13-93 glass scaffolds.