Polymer-Derived Biosilicate-like Glass-Ceramics: Engineering of Formulations and Additive Manufacturing of Three-Dimensional Scaffolds.

Silicone resins, filled with phosphates and other oxide fillers, yield upon firing in air at 1100 °C, a product resembling Biosilicate glass-ceramics, one of the most promising systems for tissue engineering applications. The process requires no preliminary synthesis of parent glass, and the polymer route enables the application of direct ink writing (DIW) of silicone-based mixtures, for the manufacturing of reticulated scaffolds at room temperature. The thermal treatment is later applied for the conversion into ceramic scaffolds.