Synthesis, characterization, antibacterial activity in dark and in vitro cytocompatibility of Ag-incorporated TiO₂ microspheres with high specific surface area

Postoperative infection associated with medical implants is a devastating complication of orthopedic surgery. Considering the difficulties for the diagnosis and treatment of infection, coating the implant material with antibacterial substances is a promising protocol by which to avoid such an adverse reaction. Nanoparticles (NPs) constructed of anatase microspheres, one form of titanium dioxide (TiO₂), with a high specific surface area are fabricated in this study in a facile one-step process using homogeneous precipitation at 90 °C under atmospheric pressure using titanium sulfate (Ti[SO₄]₂) and urea as the titanium source and precipitant, respectively. The molar ratio of silver (Ag) to TiO₂ can be changed by varying the amount of silver nitrate (AgNO₃). The high specific surface area of the TiO₂ microspheres combined with Ag particles (Ag/TiO₂) exhibit excellent antibacterial properties against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In addition, the Ag/TiO₂ material in this work possesses satisfactory biological performance on MC3T3-E1 cells. The high specific surface area of Ag/TiO₂ together with good antibacterial properties and cytocompatibility provide promising applications in dentistry, orthopedics, and other fields of medicine that use biomedical devices.

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