Investigations on the effect of swift heavy silicon ion irradiation on hydroxyapatite

•Hydrothermally grown HAp was modified by 60 MeV Si ion irradiation.•Platy crystals were observed on fluence 1×1013 ions/cm2.•Red shift suggests that the material could find application as phosphors.•Band gap increased to 5.5 eV for fluence 1×1014 ions/cm2.•Improved surface roughness, pores and particle size favour the cell material interaction.•Sustained drug delivery (45 h) as well as high efficacy against S. aureus was noted.