IN VITRO DEGRADATION AND BIOACTIVITY OF ANTIBACTERIAL CHROMIUM DOPED β-TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE BIOCERAMICS

Abstract

This study successfully incorporated different chromium ions (Cr3+) fractions into β-tricalcium phosphate (βTCP) using the wet-precipitation process aided by microwave radiation. The microstructure analysis of the prepared materials was investigated using XRD and FESEM. The XRD results revealed that the characteristic peaks of Cr-βTCP materials matched the standard phase of βTCP crystals. The lattice parameters were decreased with increasing amounts of Cr3+ ions while the degree of crystallinity was increased. The FESEM results revealed that the entire materials were spherical from nano to micro size. The particle growth rate increased significantly as the amount of Cr3+ ions increased. SBF solution was used to test the bioactivity of materials for 14 days at 37°C. The results shows that incorporating Cr3+ ions accelerated the degradation rate of βTCP and enhanced the deposition rate of the apatite layer. The antibacterial study of βTCP doped with Cr3+ ions confirmed that the samples were effective as antibacterial agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa).