Preparation and In Vitro Bioactivity of Cerium-Incorporated Bioglass Microspheres via Spray Drying Method

Bioglass (BG) microspheres with a constitution of CaO–SiO₂–P₂O₅ demonstrate promising applications in bone repair. It has been proved that the cerium ion incorporation in bioglass structure can provide materials with additional antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and angiogenesis functions. In this study, cerium-incorporated bioglass (Ce–BG) microspheres were prepared via a spray drying process. The effects of Ce content on the phase composition, degradation performance and in vitro bioactivity of Ce–BG microspheres were investigated. The results show that all microspheres are uniform in element distribution with relatively smooth surfaces and a high degree of sphericity. The Ce incorporation introduces a small amount of CePO₄ and CeO₂ crystalline phases. Along with the increase of Ce content, the degradation rate of Ce–BG microspheres slows down, and the effect of degradation products on the increase of environmental pH value is alleviated, and the pH value was found to be the lowest after 7 d of immersion for Ce–BG microspheres with mole ratio of Ce and Ce+Ca of 0.03:1.00 in Tris-HCl buffer. Ce–BG microspheres with different Ce content have good ability to induce apatite deposition in vitro.