ABSTRACT Bioactive glasses (BGs) are widely investigated for biomedical applications due to their bioactivity, ion release capability, and potential antimicrobial behavior. In this work, a novel zinc/potassium‐doped BG, designated as Gaia‐GN, was synthesized using the melt‐quench technique. The thermal behavior was characterized through differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry (TG), and heating microscopy (HM), which revealed a glass transition temperature of 513°C and a broad processing window suitable for viscous‐flow sintering. Subsequently, Gaia‐GN powders were thermally processed to obtain sintered specimens. XRD analysis showed that sintering at relatively low temperatures, namely 600°C, produced a compact and predominantly amorphous structure, minimizing the formation of crystalline phases. In addition, mechanical properties were evaluated by Vickers micro‐indentation, determining Vickers hardness, Young's modulus, and fracture toughness using four different theoretical models. The results suggest that the combined presence of Zn and K improves thermal stability and mechanical performance compared with conventional formulations such as 45S5 Bioglass and S53P4. Finally, antimicrobial assays were conducted, revealing a strong antimicrobial action of the glass against Gram‐negative bacteria. Overall, these findings underscore the potential of the new K/Zn‐doped BG not only for its antibacterial properties but also for applications requiring thermal processing, such as the fabrication of scaffolds or coatings on metallic substrates.
Bellucci et al. (Wed,) studied this question.