Bioresorbable calcium-phosphate glasses for biophotonic applications

Calcium-phosphate glasses (CPGs) are unique materials for hard and soft tissue engineering, as they can be fully resorbed in physiological conditions and can interact in various ways with the human body. Moreover, they have interesting properties for applications in optics and photonics. We will report the recent progress in the development of a new calcium-phosphate glass composition able to combine intriguing optical, biological and thermal features, in particular transparency in the near UV region, solubility in aqueous media, low intrinsic attenuation loss and good thermal stability. We will also present the fabrication of hollow fibres in the prospect of drug delivery combined with light guiding for photodynamic therapy (PDT).