bioactive material is a material that has been designed to induce specific biological activity . bioactive glass refers to any glass or glass ceramic that displays the characteristics of bioactivity . bioactive glass is an amorphous solid that is not intrinsically adhesive and that is capable of forming a cohesive bond with both hard and soft tissue when exposed to appropriate in vivo and in vitro environments , such as simulated body fluid or tris - hydroxymethylaminomethane buffers . a cohesive bond is achieved by developing a surface layer of hydroxycarbonate apatite onto the bioactive glass through the release of ionic species from the bulk bioglass material . bioceramic is any ceramic , glass or glass ceramic that is used as a biomaterial and a ceramic which upon implantation is transformed into less soluble minerals . bioactive glass is an example of a bioceramic material . osteoconduction is a process of passively allowing bone to grow and remodel over a surface . in osteoconduction the implant provides a biocompatible interface along which bone migrates . porosity refers to the volume percentage of air in a three dimensional scaffold . scaffold is a porous structural device that allows living tissues to grow into it . a scaffold can form a base which serves as a guide for tissue growth . in the present invention glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers are first formed by any suitable technique known to those skilled in the art e . g . by using melt spinning technique . the fibers are then chopped into desired length . lump of fibers is then heated in an oven so that fibers are sintered together and a porous three - dimensional block is formed . the properties of block , i . e . porosity , pore size and compressive strength can be adjusted to a desired level by adjusting fiber diameter , sintering time and sintering temperature . the porous three - dimensional block can also be prepared by sintering bioceramic fibers . in another embodiment of the present invention the sintering of the glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers is performed under load . under load means that a weight is applied onto the fibers during the sintering . sintering under load results in a more homogenous structure of the scaffold . by sintering glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers , a porous , osteoconductive scaffold can be formed . by optimizing the processing parameters the degree of porosity can be controlled . porosities as high as 90 vol % can be achieved when the glass fibers are sintered together as described herein . compression strength of the scaffold can be optimized to be from 5 to 25 mpa , and preferably over 20 mpa , which is stated to be the requirement for load bearing purposes of the scaffold . the optimization is preferably performed by increasing fiber diameter , sintering temperature and sintering time . a sintered body from glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers is considerably soft and by altering the processing parameters , different kinds of products with different kind of properties can be formed . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention a porous scaffold made by sintering glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers can be attached to a biocompatible polymeric film such that the porous scaffold has a barrier property on its side . this apparatus can be used for example with guided bone regeneration where barrier effect is required to avoid soft tissue ingrowth in the area where new bone formation is required . another application of the apparatus is in regeneration of cartilage tissue . the porous scaffold sintered from glass fibers , preferably from bioactive glass fibers is able to form a matrix into which cartilage tissue can grow . the other side of the scaffold with polymeric film serves as a barrier that separates the newly formed cartilage tissue from the synovial liquids . the biocompatible film can be prepared for example of polyglycolide , polylactide , poly - β - hydroxybutyric acid , polydioxanone , polyvinylalcohol , polyesteramine , their copolymers or polymer blends thereof . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention the glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers can be sintered together under compression load . the compression load used is approximately 10 kpa . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention bioactive agents can be used in combination with the sintered porous scaffold to promote new tissue , e . g . bone formation . in such a case the porous scaffold made from bioactive glass fibers can act as carrier for bioactive agents . the biologically active agent is selected from the group consisting of anti - inflammatory agents , antibacterial agents , antiparasitic agents , antifungal agents , antiviral agents , anti - neoplastic agents , analgesic agents , anaesthetics , vaccines , central nervous system agents , growth factors , hormones , antihistamines , osteoinductive agents , cardiovascular agents , anti - ulcer agents , bronchodilators , vasodilators , birth control agents , fertility enhancing agents and polypeptides . preferably the bioactive agents are bone morphogenic proteins ( bmp ), such as op - 1 , bmp - 2 , bmp - 4 and bmp - 7 . in another preferred embodiment of the present application the glass fibers , preferably the bioactive glass fibers are first coated with a biocompatible polymer prior to the sintering . the fibers are chopped and then the coated fibers are sintered to form a three dimensional scaffold . in this case the scaffold has reasonable elastic performance and can be applied in cases where elastic performance is required from the scaffold . the bioactive glass used in this invention has the following composition about 53 - about 60 wt -% sio 2 , about 0 - about 34 wt -% na 2 o , about 1 about 20 wt -% k 2 o , about 0 - about 5 wt -% mgo , about 5 - about 25 wt -% cao , about 0 - about 4 wt -% b 2 o 3 , about 0 . 5 - about 6 wt -% p 2 o 5 , provided that na 2 o + k 2 o = about 16 - about 35 wt -%; k 2 o + mgo = about 5 - about 20 wt -% and mgo + cao = about 10 - about 25 wt -%. preferably the bioactive glass has the following composition 53 wt -% sio 2 , 6 wt -% na 2 o , 12 wt -% k 2 o , 5 wt -% mgo , 20 wt -% cao , 0 wt -% b 2 o 3 and 4 wt -% p 2 o 5 . the preferred composition is referred in this context as glass 13 - 93 prepared by abmin technologies . the chopped fibers have a length from about 2 to about 30 mm , and preferably the length of the fibers is approximately from about 5 to about 15 mm . by controlling the length of the fibers the size of the pores can be adjusted to a desired level . the fibers have a diameter of about 0 . 010 - about 1 . 0 mm and preferably have a diameter of about 0 . 030 to about 0 . 300 mm . by altering the diameter of the fibers the rate of dissolving can be controlled . lower sintering temperatures can be used for fibers with smaller diameter and a more porous scaffold is received . by altering the processing parameters the properties of the scaffold can be adjusted to desired level and for example a scaffold which is easily formable for example with a knife can be prepared . sintering temperatures of the present invention for bioactive glass fibers are from about 300 ° c . to about 1500 ° c ., preferably from about 600 ° c . to about 700 ° c . , and most preferably from about 630 ° c . to about 680 ° c . when fibers coated with biocompatible polymers are sintered , the sintering temperature depends on the softening point of the coat polymer . when biocompatible polymers are used the sintering temperature is from about 50 ° c . to about 300 ° c ., and preferably from about 100 ° c . to about 200 ° c . suitable biocompatible polymers are for example polyglycolide , polylactide , poly - β - hydroxybutyric acid , polydioxanone , polyvinylalcohol , polyesteramine , their copolymers and polymer blends thereof . the thickness of the polymer coating on the fibers is from about 1 to about 200 μm , preferably from about 5 to about 30 μm . the preferred sintering time in this invention when sintering glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers , is from about 1 to about 120 minutes and preferably from about 5 to about 30 minutes . the sintering time of the present invention when sintering glass fibers coated with polymers , preferably bioactive glass fibers coated with polymers is from about 1 to about 120 minutes and preferably from about 5 to about 30 minutes . by altering the sintering parameters , i . e . sintering temperature , sintering time , length of the fibers , diameter of the fibers , etc ., the properties of the formed scaffold can be adjusted to desired levels . for example , the compression strength of the scaffold can be increased when thicker fibers and a higher sintering temperature are used . the formability of the scaffold can be improved when thinner fibers are used and the sintering temperature is in the lower end of the softening area of the glass . by sintering glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers a scaffold is formed which has a porosity of about 5 to about 95 volume -% and preferably from about 50 to about 90 volume -%. the load bearing capacity of the prepared scaffold is characterized by the compression strength . when sintering glass fibers , preferably bioactive glass fibers , a scaffold is obtained which has excellent load bearing properties . the compression strength of the scaffold of this invention is from about 5 to about 25 mpa and preferably over or greater than 20 mpa . [ 0058 ] fig1 shows one preferred embodiment of the present invention where sintered porous glass fiber scaffold , preferably a bioactive glass fiber scaffold , 1 is attached to a polymeric film 2 , e . g . by sintering or by processing under heat and pressure . the film with porous scaffold can be used , for example as a membrane in guided bone regeneration procedures or guided tissue regeneration procedures , where the membrane is used as a barrier to avoid soft tissue ingrowth , to enhance the regeneration of bone tissue ( or periodontal tissues ). fig1 also shows that the film 2 which has a scaffold 1 attached to it can be bent and formed into a desired shape . fig1 illustrates an example of using scaffold 1 and the film 2 in reconstructing a defect in alveolar bone 3 . the scaffold 1 and the film 2 are attached to the defect with small nails 4 or other comparable apparatus suitable for attachment of the scaffold to a defect . [ 0059 ] fig2 shows an example of the use of the scaffold 1 and the membrane 2 in filling in a defect in a bone 5 . the scaffold and the film can be attached to the bone with small nails 4 or other comparable apparatus suitable for attachment of the scaffold to a defect . [ 0060 ] fig3 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the present invention in which a sintered mat of the glass fibers 7 , preferably a sintered mat of the bioactive glass fibers is attached to a membrane 6 . this device can be used in guided tissue regeneration or in guided bone regeneration . in one embodiment of the present invention , as illustrated in fig4 the sintering of the glass fibers 8 , preferably bioactive glass fibers is performed in a mold form 9 and a three dimensional scaffold of desired form is then obtained . when a three dimensional scaffold is obtained there is no need to machine the scaffold after the sintering of the fibers . it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that , as the technology advances , the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways . the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above or below but may vary within the scope of the claims . bioactive glass fibers were formed from glass 13 - 93 ( prepared by abmin technologies ) by melt spinning . the piece of glass with mass of 150 g was placed into a platinum crucible , which had an orifice with diameter of 3 . 5 mm at the bottom . the crucible was then placed into the furnace ( lindberg / blue cf56622c , by lindberg / blue , nc , u . s . a ), which had opening at the bottom . furnace was then heated up to a temperature of 960 c . as the glass melted it started to run from the orifice and it was drawn with a specially designed spinning roll . the speed of the roll was set to 200 mm / s . obtained glass fiber was taken out from the roll . the diameter of the fiber was 0 . 175 mm (+/− 0 . 025 mm ). fibers were then chopped to a length of 10 mm (+/− 2 mm ) by using scissors . 2 grams of the chopped fibers were placed on to a steel plate and the plate with glass fibers was placed into furnace . the furnace was slowly heated up to a temperature of 655 ° c . this was retained for 30 minutes and after that the furnace was cooled down . from the obtained porous block three rectangular blocks were shaped by saw in order to measure the porosity and compression strength of the blocks . the outer dimensions and the weight of each block were measured . the calculated mean porosity of the blocks was 26 vol -% glass (+/− 5 %) and 74 vol -% of air . the compression strength of the blocks was measured by using an instron materials testing machine . the mean strength of 24 . 4 mpa ( stdev 3 . 8 mpa ) was obtained . bioactive glass fibers were formed from glass 13 - 93 by melt spinning as described in example 1 . the diameter of the fibers was 0 . 075 mm (+/− 0 . 025 mm ). fibers were then chopped to the length of 15 mm (+/− 2 mm ) by using scissors . chopped fibers were placed on to a steel plate , and the plate with glass fibers was placed into a furnace . the furnace was slowly heated up to a temperature of 650 ° c . and the temperature was retained there for 30 minutes after which the furnace was cooled down . from the obtained porous block three rectangular blocks were shaped with a surgical knife in order to measure porosity . the outer dimensions and the weight of each block were measured . the calculated mean porosity of the blocks was 11 vol -% glass (+/− 7 %) and 89 vol -% of air . bioactive glass fibers from glass 13 - 93 with diameter of 0 . 1 mm (+/− 0 . 03 mm ) were formed by melt spinning as described in example 1 . formed fibers were coated with viscous solution , which contained 5 grams of biodegradable polymer pla ( 70l / 30dl ) and 100 ml chloroform as a solvent . fibers were coated as part of the spinning process ( as described in example 1 ) by dipping fibers into the solution prior to winding them up with spinning roll . the speed of the spinning roll was set to 200 mm / s . coated fibers were chopped by using scissors into a length of 15 mm (+/− 2 mm ). chopped fibers were placed on to a steel plate and the plate with glass fibers was placed in a furnace . the furnace was slowly heated to a temperature of 140 ° c . for 5 minutes after which the furnace was cooled down . the obtained body had porosity of approximately 15 vol -% glass , 2 vol -% of polymer and 82 vol -% of air . the body was slightly flexible and did not break when bent . a porous block was formed from bioactive glass fibers as expressed in example 1 and the block was machined to have cylindrical shape with diameter of 15 mm and height of 10 mm . a polymeric film ( made of polylactide ) with thickness of 0 . 5 mm was formed by compression molding by placing 3 grams of polylactide granules between the heated plates of custom made compression molding machine . the temperature of the plates was 190 ° c . after placing the granules between the plates compressive pressure of 100 bars was applied . after applying pressure for one minute the cooling unit was turned on . as soon as the plates reached temperature of 40 ° c . the pressure was released and formed film was removed from the machine . from the compressed film a circular shape with diameter of 30 mm was cut . the circular shape polymeric film was then attached to the porous block formed from bioactive glass fibers by using compression moulding , as follows . the plates of compression moulding machine were heated to the temperature of 180 ° c . the parts were placed between the hot plates so that the porous block was placed right into middle of polymeric film . after 3 minutes , a pressure of 1 bar was applied and a cooling unit was then swithced on . after the plates were cooled to 30 ° c ., the resulting product was removed from the press . the resulting product includes the block firmly attached to the polymer film .
the present invention relates to porous bone filling materials prepared by sintering bioactive glass fibers in order to achieve a three dimensional block with interconnecting porosity . due to the osteoconductive properties the bioactive glass fibers , in block form are an ideal scaffold for new tissue formation to occur . the manufacturing parameters can be adjusted to achieve porosities as high as 90 vol -%, or the manufacturing parameters can be adjusted to prepare strong porous blocks useful in load bearing application .