Study of Antimicrobial Activity of Silver-Doped Hydroxyapatite

Abstract

Objective: Hydroxyapatite (Hap) is an important material used for implants because of its structural similarity with calcium phosphate of the teeth and bones. Hap is mostly used in the situations where load-bearing implants are needed, such as in dental and orthopedic applications. Dental plaque is caused due to the bacteria which induces secondary caries through microleakage between the restoration and the tooth structure.
 Methods: An attempt has been made to provide materials with antibacterial activity by incorporating an antibacterial agent into the chemical mixture (Hap). This study delineates the process of synthesizing silver-doped Hap (Ca10Agx(PO4)6(OH)2) by wet chemical precipitation method and by varying the silver concentration (0.3%–0.5%). The synthesized silver-doped Hap was further characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The antimicrobial activities were tested against Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. 
 Results: The maximum zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli was observed when equal concentration of Hydroxyapatite and Silver were mixed together i.e XAg=0.5% Zone of inhibition helps to determine the antimicrobial activity of silver-doped Hap. An increase in the zone of inhibition indicates the least growth of microorganisms which was observed at a silver concentration XAg=0.5%.
 Conclusions: Silver-doped Hap was synthesized successfully using the chemical precipitation method and was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and XRD analysis. It can be concluded that silver-doped Hap can be an excellent substitute material used as dental implant device.