Zinc oxide decorated titania nanostructured layer over Ti metal as a biocompatible and antimicrobial surface for biomedical application

• Published in: Surfaces and interfaces 2022-10, Vol.33, p.102275, Article 102275
• Main Authors: Sreya, P. V, Mathew, Ann Mary, Chukwuike, V.I., Venkatesan, K., Raveendran, Subina, Barik, Rakesh C., Pattanayak, Deepak K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibacterial activity and cell compatibility; Nanostructured network; NaOH treatment; Ti metal; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 2468-0230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2022.102275

The present study is an attempt to develop a zinc oxide (ZnO) decorated titania (TiO2) nanostructured layer over Ti metal by a simple chemical and thermal treatment method. Ti metal upon sequential chemical treatment with sodium hydroxide and zinc nitrate solution generated a nanostructured network layer enfolded with Zn2+ ions. Subsequent heat treatment up to 500 °C favoured the formation of ZnO and anatase TiO2 while increasing the temperature to 600 °C resulted in the formation of ZnO and ZnTiO3 along with anatase TiO2. This nanostructured layer showed significant improvement in the hardness after heat treatment at 600 °C as measured by the nano-indentation technique. ZnO formed over the anatase TiO2 layer showed excellent antibacterial activity against both gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram negative Escherichia coli and was also found to be non-toxic towards MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. Hence, ZnO/ZnTiO3 modified anatase TiO2 over Ti metal is anticipated to reduce the risk of bacterial infection and enhance the proper functionalisation through its metabolic and cellular signalling and can be useful in dental and orthopaedic fields. [Display omitted]