Manganese dioxide- and cobalt oxide-doped hydroxyapatite with curcumin for orthopedic and dental applications

Due to their compositional similarities to bone, hydroxyapatite (HA)-based materials are used as bioactive ceramics for musculoskeletal repair. However, because of the lack of any inherent antibacterial properties, HA scaffolds have higher possibilities of post-surgical bacterial infections. The goal of this research is to fabricate alternate antibacterial and cytocompatible bone tissue engineering scaffolds using cobalt oxide (CoO)- and manganese dioxide (MnO₂)-doped HA and plant-sourced curcumin from turmeric. Characterization results show no negative effects in phase and microstructure because of doping. When dopants and curcumin are combined, the antibacterial efficacy against <i>S. aureus</i> is ~ 95% after 24 h. The addition of dopants does not result in any cytotoxicity with the NIH3T3 cell line, and the bioactivity of this delivery system is confirmed in a physiological pH of 7.4. In summary, our findings provide an alternate method for manufacturing antibacterial scaffolds for orthopedic and dental applications employing curcumin-loaded CoO-MnO₂-doped HA.