Influence of Silver Ions in HA Film on Morphology of Macrophages

Ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) was successfully used to produce a dense and ultra-adherent Hydroxyapatite (HA) film on titanium alloy and alumina. Recently it is also proved that the HA coatings on alumina substrate treated with 20 ppm $AgNO_3$ had the structure of $(Ag, Ca)_10(PO_4)6(OH)_2$, which exhibited excellent antimicrobial effects. The present paper aims to morphlogically characterize the adhesion of macrophages on newly developed Ag-HA coated alumina and Ti6A14V substrates and to evaluate the biocompatibility of the coatings in vitro. It can be found that the cell number on alumina of the concentration of $AgNO_3$ in the treatment, the cell number on Ag-HA coatings decreased. Up to 20 ppm $AgNO_3$ by Ag-treatment, the morphological development of the cells on Ag-HA coating was similar to that of the cells on HA coating, suggesting the biotolerance of the Ag-HA coatings.