Inorganic fibers including the following composition, SiO.sub.2, MgO and CaO being main components: SiO.sub.2: 73.6 wt % to 85.9 wt %, MgO: 9.0 wt % to 21.3 wt %, CaO: 5.1 wt % to 12.4 wt %, Al.sub.2O.sub.3: 0 wt % or more and less than 2.3 wt %, and Fe.sub.2O.sub.3: 0 wt % to 0.50 wt %.

Compositions and methods for improving the regeneration of soft tissues as a result of injury or disease are provided. Various compositions are disclosed including a bioactive glass composition derived from calcining a reactant composition. Methods for treating injured or diseased skeletal muscle comprising contacting the injured or diseased skeletal muscle with the bioactive glass composition are also disclosed.

A resorbable tissue scaffold fabricated from bioactive glass fiber forms a rigid three-dimensional porous matrix having a bioactive composition. Porosity in the form of interconnected pore space is provided by the space between the bioactive glass fiber in the porous matrix. Strength of the bioresorbable matrix is provided by bioactive glass that fuses and bonds the bioactive glass fiber into the rigid three-dimensional matrix. The resorbable tissue scaffold supports tissue in-growth to provide osteoconductivity as a resorbable tissue scaffold, used for the repair of damaged and/or diseased bone tissue.

A glass ceramic is provided to address the challenge that bioceramics known to be used for bone defect repair often lack good hardness, proper degradability, low post-implantation stimulation to surrounding tissues and promotion of bone defect repair in combination. The glass ceramic comprises a major crystallized phase, which is either diopside or wollastonite; and a minor crystallized phase, which comprises any one or more selected from the group consisting of diopside, wollastonite, lithium disilicate, silicon dioxide, lithium metasilicate and Li.sub.2Ca.sub.2Si.sub.5O.sub.13. In the glass ceramic, the molar ratio of elemental calcium, elemental lithium and elemental silicon is 1:x:2, in which x is from 0.05 to 1. However, when the major crystallized phase is diopside, the minor crystallized phase does not comprise diopside; and when the major crystallized phase is wollastonite, the minor crystallized phase does not comprise wollastonite. The present invention also comprises a method for manufacturing the glass ceramic.

A process of preparing a glass comprising: (a) heating a mixture of precursor chemicals to a melt temperature to form a melt, the melt being characterized in that quenching the melt at or above a threshold temperature results in a spinodal phase separation, and quenching the melt below the threshold temperature results in a droplet phase separation; and (b) quenching the melt at or above the threshold temperature in a preheated mold to form the glass composition having the spinodal phase separation.

A silicate-based glass composition includes: 40-60 wt. % SiO.sub.2, 0-10 wt. % B.sub.2O.sub.3, 0.01-10 wt. % P.sub.2O.sub.5, 0-10 wt. % Al.sub.2O.sub.3, 0-5 wt. % Li.sub.2O, 10-30 wt. % Na.sub.2O, 0.01-15 wt. % K.sub.2O, 0.01-5 wt. % MgO, 15-30 wt. % CaO, 15-35 wt. % MO, and 15-30 wt. % R.sub.2O, such that MO is the sum of MgO, CaO, SrO, BeO, and BaO, and R.sub.2O is the sum of Na.sub.2O, K.sub.2O, Li.sub.2O, Rb.sub.2O, and Cs.sub.2O.

The invention relates to a fibre comprising or consisting of a porous phosphate-based glass (PBG). The PBG has an average pore diameter of less than 1,000 nm. The invention extends to methods of making the PBG, and medical uses thereof.

The disclosure provides a method of producing a mesoporous phosphate-based glass. The method comprises (a) contacting a phosphate with an alcohol and/or a glycol ether to create a reaction mixture; (b) contacting the reaction mixture with alkali metal cations and/or alkaline earth metal cations; (c) contacting the alcohol, the glycol ether or the reaction mixture with a surfactant, wherein the surfactant is configured to provide channel-like pores in the resultant mesoporous phosphate-based glass; (d) allowing the reaction mixture to gel; and (e) calcinating the gel to obtain the mesoporous phosphate-based glass.

The present invention relates to a glass-ceramic composite material, which is a composite material with degradability and osteoconductivity, and is composed of CaOMgOSiO.sub.2 (CMS glass)+CaMgSi.sub.2O.sub.6 (CMS ceramic) and CaSO.sub.4 (CS ceramic). In addition to the CaOMgOSiO.sub.2 glass, this synthesized composite material mainly includes two ceramics of CaMgSi.sub.2O.sub.6 and CaSO.sub.4 in crystalline phase, wherein, both the CMS glass and CMS ceramic have high mechanical strength, biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, while CaSO.sub.4 has the characteristics of rapid degradation to promote bone ingrowth.