A Study to Evaluate the Bioactivity Behavior and Electrical Properties of Hydroxyapatite/Ag2O-Borosilicate Glass Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications

In this study, nanocomposites with different contents of borosilicate glass (BG) and carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA) were mixed, ground and sintered at 750 degrees C. In order to examine their phase composition, molecular structure and microstructure, x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively were used. Moreover, the DC electrical conductivity and physical and mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites were measured. In addition, the in vitro bioactivity of the sintered samples was evaluated using XRD and SEM. Unexpectedly; the results indicated that the successive increase in BG contents promoted the partial decomposition of CHA at this lower sintering temperature. Also, it was responsible for the enhanced bioactivity behavior along with giving CHA better mechanical properties whereby microhardness, compressive strength, and Young's, elastic, bulk and shear moduli were improved even 50, 40, 85, 81.81, 78.5 and 77.27%, respectively. In addition, the density of these nanocomposites was enhanced to 31.03%. However, the electrical conductivity of the examined samples exhibited an opposite trend where it decreased by 87.3% with the increase of the BG content to 32 wt%. According to the results obtained, the prepared samples are suitable for use in various biomedical applications.

Automated summary

The nanocomposites prepared by mixing different contents of borosilicate glass and carbonated hydroxyapatite exhibited unexpected results during sintering, with the increase in borosilicate glass content leading to partial decomposition of the hydroxyapatite and enhanced bioactivity behavior, as well as improvements in mechanical properties including hardness, strength, and moduli.