Novel Antibacterial and Bioactive Silicate Glass Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

In this work, the authors propose a new quick sol–gel procedure for bioglass nanoparticles production containing 10% mol of silver (AgBGs). These new AgBGs are characterized by Zeta potential analysis, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis (SEM/EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and microbiological tests to confirm their bioactive and antibacterial properties. SEM shows that the average particle size is less than 200 nm and EDS confirms the successful incorporation of Ag2O in the bioglass matrix. XRD confirms the amorphous nature of the AgBGs and, after SBF immersion, reveals their bioactive behavior with the presence of crystalline phase of calcium silicate and phosphorus oxide, which are also detected by FTIR analysis. FTIR also confirms the formation of typical siloxane bonds resulting from the condensation of silicate glass. Lastly, it is found that the developed AgBGs has an antibacterial effect against two different types of bacteria, thus demonstrating their ability to reduce the bacterial infection within 16 h.