Strontium-releasing sol–gel bioactive glass spheres and their ability to stimulate osteogenic differentiation in osteoporotic bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease that affects bone tissue and is highly associated with bone fractures. Due to the low bioavailability of conventional treatments for this disease, an alternative has been developed to project systems for the local release of therapeutic agents, such as bioactive glass (BG) containing therapeutic ions and molecules that are released during dissolution. In this study, submicron BG spheres derived from the sol–gel process containing Sr, a potential ion to prevent bone loss and increase bone formation, were evaluated. For the first time, the effect of these particles was investigated on the reduced osteogenic potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) obtained from osteoporotic rats. The obtained submicron and spherical Sr-containing BG particles showed controlled ion release capacity, and osteogenic differentiation assays showed that these materials could stimulate the reduced differentiation potential of BMMSCs from osteoporotic rats due to Sr release.