Synthesis and Characterization of Silver-containing Sol-gel Derived Bioactive Glass Coating

Abstract

Silver doped-bioactive glass coatings offer the possibility of bioactivation, corrosion protection and infection prevention of metallic implants. A certain composition of glass (54SiO₂–36CaO–8P₂O₅–2Ag₂O (wt %)) was coated on titanium substrate using dip coating method by 1 cm/min withdrawal rate with controlling the effective factors like viscosity of sol, matching thermal expansion coefficient (a), heating rate and etc., then heated at 700°C for 1h at the rate of 3°C/min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicted a crack-free and homogeneous coating. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy corresponding to the SEM image affirmed the presence of Si, P, Ca and Ag as main elements of Ag-BG coating. Contact angle measurement confirmed positive effect of silver on the wettability and adhesion of Ag-BG on the Ti surface. X-ray Diffraction analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of Ag-BG. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed successful inclusion of silver in glass structure. X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy demonstrated that composition of Ag-BG was very close to the designed composition. Results of acellular in vitro bioactivity test showed formation of ball-like particles including a layer of entangled rough apatite crystals on the surface.