Effect of silver/zinc co-dopant on enhancing cytotoxicity and antibacterial property of spray pyrolyzed bioactive glasses

Owing to the advancement of bioactive materials, bioactive glasses (BGs) are progressively being recognized as promising choices in fields of bone and tissue engineering with their superior properties such as bioactivity and biocompatibility. However, their applications are limited by the fact that the material itself does not possess antibacterial properties. To address this limitation, antibacterial BGs with silver-zinc co-dopant were proposed and successfully synthesized via the one-step spray pyrolysis technique in this work. The phase composition, chemical composition, surface morphology, and nanoscale structures of the obtained BG specimens were characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, in-vitro bioactivity was assessed through immersion of the SBF solution, while the in-vitro antibacterial property was examined using Escherichia coli bacteria. Meanwhile, the viability of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Finally, the results showed positive effects of zinc addition, and the influence of silver and zinc dopants on the in-vitro bioactivity, antibacterial property, and cell viability were discussed.