Composition and properties of silver-containing calcium carbonate-calcium phosphate bone cement

J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2013 Dec;24(12):2665-75. doi: 10.1007/s10856-013-5014-2. Epub 2013 Jul 28.

Abstract

The introduction of silver, either in the liquid phase (as silver nitrate solution: Ag(L)) or in the solid phase (as silver phosphate salt: Ag(S)) of calcium carbonate-calcium phosphate (CaCO3-CaP) bone cement, its influence on the composition of the set cement (C-Ag(L) and C-Ag(S) cements with a Ca/Ag atomic ratio equal to 10.3) and its biological properties were investigated. The fine characterisation of the chemical setting of silver-doped and reference cements was performed using FTIR spectroscopy. We showed that the formation of apatite was enhanced from the first hours of maturation of C-Ag(L) cement in comparison with the reference cement, whereas a longer period of maturation (about 10 h) was required to observe this increase for C-Ag(S) cement, although in both cases, silver was present in the set cements mainly as silver phosphate. The role of silver nitrate on the setting chemical reaction is discussed and a chemical scheme is proposed. Antibacterial activity tests (S. aureus and S. epidermidis) and in vitro cytotoxicity tests (human bone marrow stromal cells (HBMSC)) showed that silver-loaded CaCO3-CaP cements had antibacterial properties (anti-adhesion and anti-biofilm formation) without a toxic effect on HBMSC cells, making C-Ag(S) cement a promising candidate for the prevention of bone implant-associated infections.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry
  • Apatites / chemistry
  • Biofilms
  • Bone Cements / chemistry*
  • Bone Marrow Cells / microbiology
  • Bone Substitutes
  • Calcium Carbonate / chemistry*
  • Calcium Phosphates / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Materials Testing
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Powders
  • Prostheses and Implants
  • Silver / chemistry*
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Staphylococcus epidermidis
  • Stromal Cells / microbiology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Apatites
  • Bone Cements
  • Bone Substitutes
  • Calcium Phosphates
  • Powders
  • Silver
  • calcium phosphate
  • Calcium Carbonate