Fabrication of silver nanoparticle-doped hydroxyapatite coatings with oriented block arrays for enhancing bactericidal effect and osteoinductivity.

Implant-associated infection is a common postoperative complication and remains a serious problem in orthopedic surgery. This work describes the synthesis of silver nanoparticle-doped hydroxyapatite coatings with oriented block arrays (AgNP-BHAC). The resulting nanostructure was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. AgNP-BHAC exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity toward gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus owing to the antibacterial effects of the silver nanoparticles. Human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSC) culture revealed that the AgNP-BHAC exhibited better biocompatibility, and permitted improved cell proliferation, attachment, and osteoinductivity than uncoated Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, the favored material for biomedical applications. In summary, this study presents a convenient and effective method for the incorporation of silver into HA coatings with block morphology. This method can be utilized to modify a variety of metallic implant surfaces to improve their antimicrobial effects and reduce potential long-term cytotoxicity.