Performance of annealed TiO2 nanotubes in interactions with blood platelets

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes, synthesized by the electrochemical anodization of Ti foil, were annealed to obtain the anatase crystal phase and further characterized as surfaces for vascular stent applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to analyze the crystal structure of the TiO2 nanotubes, while the morphology of the nanotubes and biological material was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the surface of the annealed TiO2 nanotubes acts anti-thrombogenically, since the whole-blood derived platelets do not adhere nor activate readily on such samples, unlike on the surface of amorphous TiO2 nanotubes and plain Ti foil. Therefore, the anatase crystal phase of TiO2 nanotubes could be beneficial for stent applications.