Silver Nanoparticles Enhance the Antibacterial Effect of Antibiotic-Loaded Bone Cement

Abstract

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine the antibacterial activity of bone cement in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) structures with varying amounts of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) included. Additionally, we aimed to evaluate whether AgNPs affect the biomechanical properties of PMMA cement in our study. Materials and methods Between April 2020 and June 2020, we conducted a series of experiments to demonstrate the antibacterial characteristics by adding silver nanoparticles to PMMA bone cement. PMMA bone cement (Cemex, Tecres Company, Verona, Italy) was used as the base material. Seven different samples were prepared in order to evaluate the amount and presence of AgNPs. Cement samples containing AgNPs and teicoplanin at different concentrations and empty cement (control, without teicoplanin and AgNPs) were placed on Petri plates. The agar diffusion method was used to determine the antibacterial effect (Kirby-Bauer). Results Kirby-Bauer assays demonstrated that AgNPs added to bone cement increased the antimicrobial activity compared to antibiotic-free or only teicoplanin-loaded cement. It was observed that increasing the AgNPs ratio further increased the antimicrobial activity. Conclusion AgNPs in various combinations enhance antimicrobial activity synergistically while maintaining the mechanical strength of bone cement. Increasing the amount of AgNPs results in a significant increase in antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: antibacterial activity; bone cement; nanoparticles; polymethyl methacrylate (pmma); silver nanoparticles.

Figure 1. The preparation of teicoplanin and AgNPs in various combinations with PMMA

AgNPs: Silver nanoparticles; PMMA: Polymethyl methacrylate.

Figure 2. Preparing three different samples from each experimental group. The concentration of AgNPs is higher in the dark black samples.

AgNPs: Silver nanoparticles.

Figure 3. Compression tests on AgNP-loaded bone cements in various concentrations

Code 1050 of the cement series contained 10 mg AgNPs and 50 mg Targocid; code 7550 contained 7.5 mg AgNPs and 50 mg Targocid; code 5050 contained 5 mg AgNPs and 50 mg Targocid; code 2550 contained 2.5 mg AgNPs and 50 mg Targocid; and code 0050 contained 0 mg AgNP and 50 mg Targocid. Code 0000 for the cement series did not contain AgNP and Targocid. AgNPs: Silver nanoparticles.