**1. Introduction**

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An interesting research field with medical applications is represented today by ceramics, as they can be used to obtain useful biomaterials for the production of implants (Vallet-Regí, 2001, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c); many parts of the human body, in fact, can be replaced or repaired with biomaterials and more specifically with bioceramics (Black & Hastings, 1998). Regardless of the ceramic type and the application procedure, the introduction of an implant in a living body always causes inflammation phenomena and frequently infection processes as well. Those problems can be overcome by using local drug delivery methods to confine pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogens, etc. (Arcos et. al., 2001; Ragel & Vallet-Regì, 2000; Vallet-Regì et al., 2000). The possibility of introducing certain drugs into the ceramic matrices employed for bone and teeth repair is undoubtedly an added value to be taken into account.

The traditional use of high temperature procedures to model glasses and ceramics to the desired shape is very well known; on the other hand, the degradation temperature of a pharmaceutical compound is usually around 100°C, which is very low if compared with the high ones needed to compact the components (around 1000°C). Consequently, the main problem is how to include pharmaceuticals in conventional glass and ceramic implants. The scientific community is currently investigating new procedures to incorporate drugs into implantable biomaterials.

The sol-gel process, among others, has proved to be a versatile one and has been widely used in the preparation of amorphous and or hybrid materials (Hench & West, 1990; Judeinstein & Sanchez, 1996; Novak, 1993), with applications, for example, in non-linear optical materials (Hsiue et al., 1994) and mesomoporous materials (Wei et al., 1999). The family of organicinorganic hybrid materials has attracted considerable attention because of its interesting properties such as molecular homogeneity, transparency, flexibility and durability. A key issue that remains unresolved in these organic-modified materials is the degree of mixing of the organic-inorganic components, i.e., phase homogeneity. The high optical transparency to visible light indicates that the organic-inorganic phase separation, if any, is on a scale of ≤ 400nm. Such hybrids are promising materials for various applications, e.g.: solid state lasers (optical components), replacements for silicon dioxide as insulating materials in the microelectronic industry, anti-corrosion and scratch resistant coatings, contact lenses or host materials for chemical sensors. In the recent years interest in those materials is connected to their possible applications as biomaterials (Gigant et al., 2002; Joshua et al., 2001; Klukowska et al., 2002; Mackenzie & Bescher, 1998; Matsuura et al., 2001; Spanhel et. al., 1995). One indirect advantage of including polymers is that it is possible to obtain synergistic effects that combine the best properties of polymers with the best properties of inorganic materials. These materials are considered as biphasic materials, where the organic and inorganic phase is mixed at the nm to sub-μm scales. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the properties of these materials are not just the sum of the individual contributions from both phases; the role of the inner interfaces could be predominant. The nature of the interface has recently been used to divide these materials into two distinct classes (Sanchez & Ribot, 1994). In class I, organic and inorganic compounds are embedded and only the weak bonds (hydrogen, van der Waals bonds) give the cohesion to the whole structure. In class II materials, the phases are linked together through strong chemical bonds (covalent or ionic-covalent bonds). Both class I and class II hybrids were prepared by sol-gel technique (Young, 2002).

The aim of the present chapter is to summarize the synthesis via sol-gel and the characterisation methods of amorphous and hybrid materials for biomedical applications. Therefore, the emphasis of our discussion will be focussed on the science, rather than on the technology, of sol-gel processing. The controlled release of pharmaceuticals such as anti-inflammatory agents and antibiotics from strong and biocompatible hosts has relevant applications: they include implantable therapeutic systems, filling materials for bone or teeth repair, which curtail inflammatory or infectious side effects of implant materials when coatings of biocompatible materials containing anti-inflammatory or antibiotic drugs are applied.
