Facile synthesis, characterization, biocompatibility and protein loading/release property of zinc-doped hollow mesoporous bioactive glass nanospheres

We synthetized hollow mesoporous bioactive glass nanospheres (HMBGS) and zinc-doped hollow mesoporous bioactive glass nanospheres (Zn-HMBGS) in which 5 mol% zinc was substituted for calcium using polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a template agent in sol-gel process. Then investigated the effect of zinc doping on morphology, size, structure, apatite-forming ability, biocompatibility and Bovine serum albumin (BSA) loading/release property of HMBGS. Results showed that Zn-HMBGS with an average particle size of 98.87 ± 7.08 nm were successfully fabricated and doping zinc did not significantly affect the spherical morphology, nano-scaled particle size and hollow mesoporous structure, but inhibited apatite-forming ability and improved biocompatibility of HMBGS. Additionally, the Zn-HMBGS possessed high specific surface area (120.014 m²g⁻¹), large mesoporous size (5.26 ~ 6.68 nm) and hollow structure, exhibiting high loading capacity (202.17 ± 3.74 mg/g) and sustained release property for BSA. Due to their advantageous hollow mesoporous structure, good biocompatibility and efficient loading and stable release for BSA molecules, Zn-HMBGS show great potential as drug delivery systems for tissue regeneration.