[Bioactive mesoporous glass devices enriched with biologically active ions for the treatment of bone defects and infections]

Population aging is a process that is becoming more pronounced as the years go by. The results presented by the European Statistical Office predicted that by the year 2050, 30% of the population will be over 65 years of age and this leads to a high rate of bone conditions such as fractures, bone defects, osteoporosis and bone infections that require surgical intervention. The procedure to treat these conditions consists of performing autografts or implanting metal alloys coated with various compounds. However, autologous implants generate morbidity in the donor region and metallic implants are easily contaminated during surgery, leading to tissue infections that are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics. In the worst cases, resistance to these drugs can develop.Faced with this need, engineering has presented alternative synthetic materials for this purpose, such as polymeric materials, ceramics, metallic or composite materials.During the thesis, four biomaterials have been developed with the aim of addressing different scenarios, but with a fundamental basis: to promote the regeneration of bone tissue and to apply a combined treatment that prevents osteomyelitis processes, the development of drug resistance and eliminates bacterial populations both in planktonic state and in biofilms. All the alternatives are based on the use of bioceramics known as mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBG) of the SiO2ꟷP2O5ꟷCaO system. This family of materials is widely recognized by the scientific community in the field of biomaterials as one of the most promising candidates among the materials proposed for the replacement of bone tissue. The materials described in this work have in common the strategy of enriching them with therapeutic metal ions with osteogenic and/or antibacterial properties, such as strontium, zinc or copper…