Fabrication of TiO2 nanotubes for bioapplications

Abstract

Titanium (Ti), due its most promising biomaterial properties, can be used in the medical devices that interact with the body tissue, specifically to evaluate, treat, augment or replace any tissue, organ or function of the body. In the present work, we prepared titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes with different diameters in the same electrolyte by tailoring different parameters of electrochemical anodization. These structures have more nanorough regions and more surface area that can promote protein binding and cell adhesion in order to increase the lifetime of implants and other medical devices. As an example, we showed the differences in the protein binding of human acute-phase serum amyloid A (SAA) to the TiO2 nanotubes of different diameters, specifically of 50 nm and 15 nm, as well as comparing it with the binding to the foil alone. We found that SAA binds most prevalently to the nanotubes 50 nm, as opposed to the nanotubes 15 nm or the foil.