Sol-gel silicate glass doped with silver for bone regeneration: Antibacterial activity, intermediate water, and cell death mode.

The hydration state of bioactive glass materials and its relationship with their biocompatibility have been receiving attention. In this research, silver-containing bioactive glasses (BGAgs) (Ag contents of 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0% in the glass system) were developed using the sol-gel method. Their physicochemical properties, size, morphology, and surface area were characterized by conducting X-rays diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyses. The surface charges of the developed BGAgs were evaluated using the Nano Zetasizer. Moreover, the antibacterial activities and intermediate water (IW) contents of hydrated BGAgs were determined. Finally, BGAgs disks were tested against osteosarcoma (MG63) cell line to evaluate their death modes. The physicochemical characteristics of the BGAgs revealed no modifications after Ag doping. In comparison, relative changes were recorded in the particle size (20-33 to 16-29 nm), surface area (4.3 to 3.7 m/g), and particle charge (-24 to -14.6 mV). Doping the current glass system with silver produced impressive amounts of IW, consistent with recorded proliferation rates of the cells when treated with BGAgs. The determined hydration states correlated with other findings in this research might be helpful in predicting and assessing the biological behaviors of BGAgs.