Bioactivity and cell viability of Ag+- and Zr4+-co-doped biphasic calcium phosphate

Developing biomaterial implants for bone regeneration usages has earned great attention during the last two decades. Doping technique is one of the recent approaches that have great promises in the enhancement of biomaterials features. Herein, the features of biphasic TCP/HA were modified by single and co-doping using silver (Ag+) and zirconium (Zr4+) on the expense of calcium utilizing chemical precipitation method. Doping effect on the physicochemical, thermal behaviour, particles charge, morphologies and mechanical properties was determined. Furthermore, dielectric, antibacterial activity, bioactivity and cell death mode (MG63 cell line) were also evaluated. It was confirmed that surface area and total pore volume of the prepared samples were improved upon doping. Negative particle charges, especially for the Zr4+ and the co-doped samples, were confirmed. The co-doped TCP/HA samples possess a strong bactericidal effect against all tested strains compared with the single-doped samples. They also showed a significant effect on the bioactivity properties and the electrical conductivity. The cell mode of death results also supports the importance of transition metal single and co-doping. Implementation of current co-doped biphasic calcium phosphate materials in bone reformation is encouraged due to their proved enhanced features.