Silver powders chemically synthesized by reduction with hydrazine and those produced by electrolysis from the basic (nitrate) and complex (ammonium) electrolytes were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the produced particles. Morphologies of the obtained particles were very different at the macro level. The needle-like dendrites, as well as the mixture of irregular and regular crystals, were formed from the nitrate electrolyte, while the highly-branched pine-like dendrites with clearly noticeable spherical grains were formed from the ammonium electrolyte. The agglomerates of spherical grains were formed by reduction with hydrazine. In the particles obtained from the nitrate electrolyte, Ag crystallites were strongly oriented in the (111) plane. Although morphologies of Ag particles were very different at the macro level, the similarity at the micro level was observed between chemically-synthesized particles and those obtained by electrolysis from the ammonium electrolyte. Both types of particles were constructed from the spherical grains. This similarity at the micro level was accompanied by the similar XRD patterns, which were very close to the Ag standard with a random orientation of Ag crystallites. For the first time, morphologies of powder particles were correlated with their crystal structure.

The aim of this work is in situ anodization/anaphoretic deposition of a nano amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)/chitosan oligosaccharide lactate (ChOL) multifunctional hybrid coating decorated with selenium (Se) on a titanium substrate and in vivo investigation of its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effect. Investigating phenomena at the implant–tissue interface of interest for controlled inflammation and immunomodulation was also the aim of the research. In our earlier research, we designed coatings based on ACP and ChOL on titanium with anticorrosive, antibacterial and biocompatible properties, while in the presented results we show that selenium addition makes this coating an immunomodulator. The immunomodulatory effect of the novel hybrid coating is characterized by the examination of the functional aspects in the tissue around the implant (in vivo): proinflammatory cytokines’ gene expression, M1 (iNOS) and M2 (Arg1) macrophages, fibrous capsule formation (TGF-β) and vascularization (VEGF). The EDS, FTIR and XRD analyses prove the formation of a ACP/ChOL/Se multifunctional hybrid coating on Ti and the presence of Se. A higher M2/M1 macrophage ratio in the ACP/ChOL/Se-coated implants compared to pure titanium implants (a higher level of Arg1 expression) is noted at all time points examined (after 7, 14 and 28 days). Lower inflammation measured by gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF, lower expression of TGF-β in the surrounding tissue and higher IL-6 expression (solely at day 7 post-implantation) is noted in presence of the ACP/ChOL/Se-coated implants.