Alumina-Hydroxyapatite-Silver Spheres With Antibacterial Activity

Researchers are currently looking for materials that are stable, functional, aesthetic, and biocompatible without infections. Therefore, there is a great interest in obtaining a material that has a balance between aesthetic, biological, mechanical, and functional factors, which can be used as an infection control material. The addition of hydroxyapatite to alumina make highly bioactive scaffolds with mechanical strength. Biomedical applications require antibacterial properties; therefore, this idea leads to great interest in the development of new synthetic routes of ceramic biomaterials that allow the release of nanoparticles or metal ions. This investigation presents the obtention of alumina-hydroxyapatite spheres doped with silver nanoparticles with antibacterial effect against various Gram-positive and negative bacteria related to drug-resistance infections. The microstructural and spectroscopic studies demonstrate that the spheres exhibit a homogeneous structure and crystal hydroxyapatite and silver nanoparticles are observed on the surface. The antimicrobial susceptibility was verified with the agar diffusion and turbidimetry methods in Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. All bacteria used were susceptible to the alumina-hydroxyapatite-silver spheres even at lower silver concentration. The composites have a higher possibility for medical applications focused on the control of drug-resistance microorganisms.