Self-Organization of Honeycomb-like Porous TiO sub(2) Films by means of the Breath-Figure Method for Surface Modification of Titanium Implants

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal Vol. 19; no. 17; pp. 5306 - 5313
• Main Authors: Li, Hong, Jia, Yi, Du, Mingchun, Fei, Jinbo, Zhao, Jie, Cui, Yue, Li, Junbai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-04-2013
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; In vitro testing; Metalorganic compounds; Surgical implants; Titanium; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.201203353

This study describes a facile breath-figure method for the preparation of honeycomb-like porous TiO sub(2) films with an organometallic small-molecule precursor. Multiple characterization techniques have been used to investigate the porous films and a mechanism for the formation process of porous TiO sub(2) films through the breath-figure method is proposed. The pore size of the TiO sub(2) films could be modulated by varying the experimental parameters, such as the concentration of titanium n-butoxide (TBT) solution, the content of cosolvent, and the air flow rate. In vitro cell-culture experiments indicate that NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells seeded on the honeycomb-like porous TiO sub(2) films show good adhesion, spreading, and proliferation behaviors, which suggests that honeycomb-like porous TiO sub(2) films are an attractive biomaterial for surface modification of titanium and its alloys implants in tissue engineering to enhance their biocompatibility and bioactivity. A honey of an idea: Honeycomb-like porous TiO sub(2) films have been fabricated with an organometallic small-molecule precursor by using the breath-figure method (see figure; TBT=titanium n-butoxide). The pore size of the TiO sub(2) films could be modulated by varying the experimental parameters. The in vitro cell-culture experiments indicate that porous TiO sub(2) films are an attractive biomaterial for surface modification of titanium implants in tissue engineering.