Forsterite (Mg2SiO4) has recently attracted considerable attention in different fields because of its wide range of applications. In this paper, pure forsterite nano powders were synthesized by an ultra-fast, highly efficient and green method for the first time. Microwave irradiation was used to synthesize forsterite nano powder. The formation of highly crystalline forsterite nano powder was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) analyses. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses showed that the agglomerated powder composed of nanocrystalline particles with the mean particle size of ~100 nm. Microwave irradiation significantly accelerated the rate of the reactions and dramatically decreased reaction times from hours to minutes and seconds. In vitro bioactivity evaluation was performed by soaking the forsterite samples in simulated body fluid (SBF). Results indicated that synthesized forsterite nano powder via microwave irradiation method possessed excellent apatite-forming ability in SBF. Cell viability results showed that synthesized forsterite nano powder not only showed no cytotoxicity but also improved cell proliferation. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay indicated that the fabricated forsterite nano powder could facilitate the MG63 osteoblast-like cells to proliferate and differentiate. Therefore, microwave assisted synthesis technique could be considered as a novel, safe and high efficient method in saving time and energy for bioactive forsterite nano powder production.
