Structural, morphological and mechanical insights from La2O3 doped machinable silicate glass ceramics for biomedical applications

Machinable glass ceramics attracted much attention in recent years due to its improved mechanical and therapeutic performances. La2O3 doped SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-K2CO3-CaO-MgF2 glass and glass ceramics (GCs) were synthesized using melt-quenching and solid-state reaction methods. Herein, doping impact of La2O3 on physical, optical, morphological, mechanical, and biological properties were studied. XRD reveals the major phase formation of monoclinic cuspidine, Ca4F2Si2O7 with some minor phases. 3 mol% of La2O3 GCs shows a new major crystalline phase of akermanite, Ca2MgSi2O7. FTIR study shows that La2O3 acts as a network modifier and nonbridging oxygens presented in the glassy structure tends to be increased. Optical band gap and particle size were lies in the range of 4.18-4.10 eV, and 50-57 nm, respectively. Rod-like morphology and their elemental distributions were confirmed via SEM and EDS techniques. TEM studies suggested that the lattice planes agreed with the XRD results and confirmed a major phase formation of Ca2MgSi2O7. Enhanced mechanical properties were observed using Universal Testing Machine. The cell viability and cell cytotoxicity, were performed by MTT and ALP assay.