Synthesis and characterization of silver substituted strontium phosphate silicate apatite using solid-state reaction for osteoregenerative applications

ABSTRACT

Strontium phosphosilicate is one of the fastest-growing apatite in bone regeneration application due to the presence of strontium and silica components in the parent materials. However, bacterial infections cause setbacks to the bone regeneration process often leading to surgical revisions, and is a big issue that needs to be addressed. Silver on this front has proven to be a great substituent as seen in the case of calcium phosphate–based ceramics that addresses the bactericidal properties of a biomaterial. Apatite strontium phosphosilicate substituted with a stoichiometric amount of silver as a dopant was synthesized using a high-temperature solid-state reaction. The phase formation was characterized by XRD and FT-IR coupled with morphological features visualized using Electron Microscopy. Antibacterial properties were investigated quantitatively using Colony-forming unit method against both Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria. Cytotoxicity assay was performed against MG-63 Cell lines and it showed excellent biocompatibility at 25ug/ml with optimal doping of 2% silver. Further, apatite seeding and formation were characterized after immersion in simulated body fluid solution which showed apatite phase formation initiated after 4 days of treatment characterized by XRD and FT-IR studies. This apatite formation was also visualized and confirmed using SEM.

KEYWORDS:

• Strontium phosphosilicate
• silver
• apatites
• silica
• osseointegration

Acknowledgements

The authors thank host institute for the provision of a platform and arranging facilities to carry out the research work.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.C. and X.J.; methodology, D.C. and J.Z.; formal analysis, D.C.; investigation, D.C.; resources, J.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, D.C.; writing—review and editing, D.C., J.Z., and X.J.; supervision, X. J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors hereby declare no academic or financial conflicts of any kinds with respect to the present work.

Research Highlights

• Evaluating the feasibility of solid-state reaction in preparation of biocompatible ceramics.

• Structural information of silver substituted strontium phosphate silicate

• Morphological features of doped compounds

• Biocompatibility evaluation towards blood cells and MG-63 cell lines.

• Antibacterial activity evaluation of parent material upon substitution of silver.