Enhanced antimicrobial properties of bioactive glass using strontium and silver oxide nanocomposites

Bioactive glass has a wide range of biomedical applications. It has attracted immense interest due to its unique ability to bond with a bone through ion exchange in simulated body fluid (SBF) when implanted inside the body. This study concerns sol-gel synthesis of a new bioactive glass composition: 55SiO(2)-40CaO-(5-x) SrO-xAg(2)O doped with different mol% of silver as an antibacterial agent, i.e. 0%, 2% and 4% AgSr(0), AgSr(2) & AgSr(3), respectively. This method is a widely used in the preparation of glass ceramics because of its low-temperature. The effect of introducing strontium in addition to silver as an antimicrobial agent into the bioglass matrix was studied. Structural studies were conducted using various techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Bioactivity was investigated by in-vitro synthesis involving immersion of the samples in SBF for different time intervals. The XRD, FTIR and FE-SEM results confirmed the formation of a hydroxylapatite layer on the surface of the finally prepared bioglass materials. An antimicrobial study revealed that the prepared bioactive glass showed a significant effect on two bacteria E. coli and S. aureus.