Abstract
•High strength vancomycin loaded biodegradable βTCP-FeAg nanocomposites.•Nanocomposites were obtained by attrition milling followed by cold sintering.•Lower Ag and higher vancomycin content results in lower density of nanocomposites.•Nanocomposites retained >50% strength in bending after 28 days of degradation.•Steady release of vancomycin was observed with ≥90% release after 14 days.
High energy attrition milled biodegradable βTCP-30(FeAg) (vol%) nanocomposite powders loaded with 1–10 wt% vancomycin (VH) were high pressure consolidated at room temperature/cold sintered to densities ≥90% of theoretical. Specimens exhibit high strength in bending being considerably higher than that of cold sintered VH loaded βTCP-40PLA. A desired steady release of VH in Tris buffer solution was observed, with >90% of VH released from specimens of all compositions after 14 days of immersion, with retention of more than 50% strength in bending. Ag containing specimens shows faster release profile than βTCP-Fe composite.
