Synthesis of Biocompatible Silver-Doped Carbonate Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles Using Microwave-Assisted Precipitation and In Vitro Studies for the Prevention of Peri-Implantitis

Abstract

A carbonate-hydroxyapatite-based antibacterial implant material with low cytotoxicity was synthesized. The silver ion (Ag+) was incorporated into CHA material, resulting in silver-doped carbonate hydroxyapatite (CHA-Ag). The microwave-assisted precipitation method was used to synthesize the CHA-Ag material. The amount of Ag+ was varied at 0.005, 0.010, and 0.015 mol fractions (χAg). The XRD results showed that the diffractograms corresponded with hydroxyapatite (ICSD 98-05-1414), without any additional phase. The presence of carbonate ions was indicated by vibrations at wavenumber of 871, 1411, and 1466 cm−1 in the infrared spectra. The CHA-Ag materials were agglomerates of nanosized particles with low crystallinity. The particle size and crystallinity of the materials decreased due to the incorporation of CO32− and Ag+. The incorporated Ag+ successfully inhibited peri-implant-associated bacterial growth. The antibacterial ability increased alongside the increase in the Ag+ amount. The pre-osteoblast MC3T3E1 cell could grow up to >70% in the MTT assay, despite the use of Ag+ as a dopant. The cell viability was higher in the CHA-Ag-containing media than in the CHA-containing media. The MTT assay also revealed that the CHA-Ag cytotoxicity decreased even though the Ag+ amount increased. The CHA-Ag-15 had the lowest cytotoxicity and highest antibacterial activity. Therefore, the optimal amount of Ag+ in the CHA-Ag formulation was χAg = 0.015.