The role of fluoride in the nano-heterogeneity of bioactive glasses

Fluoride-containing bioactive phospho‐silicate glasses have recently attracted interest for dental applications, particularly as remineralising additives in dentifrices, and are potentially attractive for bone regeneration, particularly in patients suffering from osteoporosis. The incorporation of fluoride into phospho­‐silicate glasses is also attractive from a structural viewpoint: Fluoride complexes modifier ions rather than binding to the silicate network, and it thereby adds a significant ionic contribution to the average character of chemical bonds in the system. Molecular dynamics simulations have suggested that this also results in the formation of nano-­eterogeneities. In this paper, we review the current knowledge on the structural role of fluoride in bioactive glasses, with a particular focus on inhomogeneities on a nano-­‐scale.