Preparation and characterisation of ZnO/HAP bioceramics with excellent antibacterial property

Ultra-long hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanowires have been hydrothermally synthesised using calcium chloride and phosphate sodium as the starting materials, and then, an antimicrobial bioceramics is successfully fabricated using the HAP-based ceramics by a simple interfacial ZnO adhesion procedure. The bioceramics is characterised by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of the concentration of alkaline on the crystal phase and morphology of the HAP nanowires as well as sintering temperature on the crystal phase and morphology of the as-prepared bioceramics is investigated. Antimicrobial properties of the bioceramics are also carefully examined. The results show that the length-to-diameter ratio of the HAP nanowires can be well monitored by the alkalinity, and the ZnO@HAP bioceramics exhibited excellent antibacterial activity. Its antibacterial activity can be well controlled by ZnO nanoparticle content packed in the interspace of the ZnO@HAP bioceramics with different porosities obtained at different temperatures.