Alginate microspheres are considered a promising material as a drug carrier in bone repair because of excellent biocompatibility, but their main disadvantage is low drug entrapment efficiency and noncontrollable release. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of incorporating mesoporous bioglass (MBG), nonmesoporous bioglass (BG), or hydroxyapatite (HAp) into alginate microspheres on their drug-loading and release properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) were used to analyze the composition, structure, and dissolution of bioactive inorganic materials and their microspheres. Dexamethasone (DEX)-loading and release ability of four microspheres were tested in phosphate buffered saline with varying pH. Results showed that the drug-loading capacity was enhanced with the incorporation of bioactive inorganic materials into alginate microspheres. The MBG/alginate microspheres had the highest drug loading ability. DEX release from alginate microspheres correlated to the dissolution of MBG, BG, and HAp in PBS, and that the pH was an efficient factor in controlling the DEX release; a high pH resulted in greater DEX release, whereas a low pH delayed DEX release. In addition, MBG/alginate, BG/alginate, and HAp/alginate microspheres had varying apatite-formation and dissolution abilities, which indicate that the composites would behave differently with respect to bioactivity. The study suggests that microspheres made of a composite of bioactive inorganic materials and alginate have a bioactivity and degradation profile which greatly improves their drug delivery capacity, thus enhancing their potential applications as bioactive filler materials for bone tissue regeneration.
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