Preparation and Antibacterial Activities of Porous Silver-doped β-Tricalcium Phosphate Bioceramics

Infection is still a major concern in bone implants, especially in the implants with porous structures. As silver shows superior and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, porous silver-doped β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramics are prepared with 5% and 10% nanometer silver. The bioceramics show similar porous macrostructure with pure β-TCP bioceramic, except slightly color change. They have almost identical microstructure to its pure β-TCP counterpart under field emission scanning electron microscope. Their physical, chemical, and mechanical properties were investigated with X-ray diffraction, Fourier transforming infrared spectrometer, and AG-5kN, and no significant difference has been found between silver-doped β-TCP bioceramics and pure β-TCP bioceramic. Bactericidal concentration of silver ions was detected in the solution soaked with the bioceramics. They can efficiently inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Styphylococcus aureus , but show no cytotoxicity to L929 cells. It suggests that silver-doped β-TCP bioceramics can be developed into new type of bone substitutes with anti-infection properties.