Multifunctional strontium-sulphate co-substituted hydroxyapatite nanopowders

The development of materials having customized properties to suit any therapeutic environment has been a dream for a long. Hydroxyapatite (HAP) as a biomaterial offers excellent ionic substitution flexibility, propagating numerous materials with desirable behavior. The present work reports the co-substitution of strontium and sulphate into HAP structure by microwave synthesis to obtain the nanopowders blended with useful properties for combined antibacterial and drug delivery applications. The XRD, FTIR, HRTEM, EDX, TGA, and BET techniques were employed to investigate the structure of strontium-sulphate (SrS-HAP) co-substituted nanopowders. The nanopowders were tested against Escherichia-coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. In addition, nanopowders were soaked in SBF to test their in-vitro bioactivity. Finally, products were also tested to deliver Ibuprofen drug under different pH environments. The dual ionic substitution conferred the nanopowders with appropriate properties suitable for multifunctional therapeutic applications, including tissue regeneration, antibacterial, and drug delivery applications.

Automated summary

This study presents the co-substitution of strontium and sulphate into hydroxyapatite structure through microwave synthesis to obtain nanopowders with potential for antibacterial and drug delivery applications, showcasing their multifunctional therapeutic potential.