22.5.2025
Doctoral thesis on understanding how different types of bioactive glasses dissolve over longer periods of time
M.Sc. Laura Aalto-Setälä’s doctoral thesis in chemistry will be put forth for public defence at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled Long-term in vitro and in vivo dissolution of bioactive glasses.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on Friday 30 May 2025 at 1PM in auditorium XXI, Agora, Vesilinnantie 3, Turku. You can also follow the doctoral defence online. Professor Jonathan Massera, Tampere University, Finland, will serve as opponent and Professor Leena Hupa, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
Bioactive glasses are glasses that can be used inside the human body, helping tissues heal. The glasses are designed so that when placed in a body, they start to dissolve and bond to human tissues. Their dissolution releases ions that stimulate the growth and growth factors of different tissues. They are used primarily in bone repair.
There is a lot of research on the initial effects of bioactive glasses but very little on the long-term effects. This research focused on the latter: understanding how different types of bioactive glasses dissolve over longer periods of time, whether they dissolve completely or not, and why, as well as the time scale of that process.
The study continued the long tradition of bioactive glass research at Åbo Akademi University. Its findings and methods enabled the first numerical approximations for the long-term dissolution of bioactive glasses from an animal study. It also showed that S53P4, a bioactive glass developed in Turku in the late 1980s and only the second clinically accepted bioactive glass composition, could be formed into implants that are more durable than previously considered possible.
The results obtained in this thesis give valuable information and approximation tools for the bioactive glass research community and pave the way for potential future clinical applications for S53P4 glass. The estimates regarding long-term dissolution help predict the optimal duration during which the dissolving glass is beneficial for the surrounding tissues. Finally, the improvements in the accuracy and relevance of laboratory studies reduce the need for animal experiments.
Laura Aalto-Setälä was born in 1988 in Espoo, Finland. She can be reached by phone +358 45 677 9171 or email laura.aalto-setala@abo.fi.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.