Bone regeneration and the role calcium ions play is being unravelled by chemists in the UK. 

Laura Skipper at the University of Kent and colleagues immersed bioactive sol-gel glasses in a simulated body fluid. These calcia-silica glasses dissolve safely when in contact with body fluids and stimulate bone growth in some cases. Using diffraction techniques Skipper revealed information about the calcium environments before and after the immersion, and this gave her insight into how the bone-like hydroxyapatite forms on the glass surfaces. 

The bone regeneration mechanism of the glasses, which have the general formula (CaO)_x(SiO₂)_1-x, is only partially understood. Current thinking suggests that calcium ions and soluble silica are released from the bioactive glass and they then activate the genes involved in tissue regeneration.   

Skipper has identified a link between atomic structure and growth processes for hydroxyapatites. She hopes the detailed structural information she has gathered can be applied to a wide range of these materials, and said that in future, 'there is a definite need to study these reactions in vitro.' 

Rebecca Lavender