Structure-dependence of anti-methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity on ZnO-containing bioglass

Drug-resistant infection control is an important concern when developing biomedical materials. In this regard, most studies have investigated the effect of metal ions incorporated in bioglass. However, the relevance of bioglass structure and antibacterial activity have received limited attention. In this study, the bioglass of mol% composition 80SiO2–15CaO–5P2O5 (80S) was synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). We can suppose that the Zn substituted in the 80S glass matrix of the xZnO/80S series) would dilute the total content of Ca, thus decrease the overall antibacterial activity and mineralization of the xZnO/80Sseries. To further support our hypothesis, a series of 80S with ZnO powders (80S + xZnO) was analyzed as well. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) indicated that tetrahedral coordinated Zn2+ was dissolved in the glass as a solid solution. Moreover, in the xZnO/80S series, because of the structure of Zn2+ substituted in the glass, the amount of ZnO being released was limited and no anti-methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity was detected. In conclusion, this study has confirmed and integrated that the suitable application of the textural-structure properties of ZnO substituted in bioglass for the future allocate.