Nanoscale Topography of Anodic TiO2 Nanostructures Is Crucial for Cell-Surface Interactions

Anodic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures, i.e., obtained by electrochemical anodization, have excellent control over the nanoscale morphology and have been extensively investigated in biomedical applications owing to their sub-100 nm nanoscale topography range and beneficial effects on biocompatibility and cell interactions. Herein, we obtain TiO2 nanopores (NPs) and nanotubes (NTs) with similar morphologies, namely, 15 nm diameter and 500 nm length, and investigate their characteristics and impact on stem cell adhesion. We show that the transition of TiO2 NPs to NTs occurs via a pore/wall splitting mechanism and the removal of the fluoride-rich layer. Furthermore, in contrast to the case of NPs, we observe increased cell adhesion and proliferation on nanotubes. The enhanced mesenchymal stem cell adhesion/proliferation seems to be related to a 3-fold increase in activated integrin clustering, as confirmed by immunogold labeling with β1 integrin antibody on the nanostructured layers. Moreover, computations of the electric field and surface charge density show increased values at the inner and outer sharp edges of the top surfaces of the NTs, which in turn can influence cell adhesion by increasing the bridging interactions mediated by proteins and molecules in the environment. Collectively, our results indicate that the nanoscale surface architecture of the lateral spacing topography can greatly influence stem cell adhesion on substrates for biomedical applications.

Synergistic Enhancement of the Photoelectrochemical Performance of TiO2 Nanorod Arrays through Embedded Plasmon and Surface Carbon Nitride Co-sensitization

We report a unique photoanode architecture involving TiO₂, g-C₃N₄, and AuNPs wherein a synergistic enhancement of the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was obtained with photocurrent densities as high as 3 mA cm^-2 under AM1.5G 1 sun illumination. The PEC performance was highly stable and reproducible, and a photoresponse was obtained down to a photon energy of 2.4 eV, close to the interband damping threshold of Au. The photocurrent enhancement was maximized when the Au plasmon band strongly overlapped the g-C₃N₄ emission band. Our photoanode architecture, which involved AuNPs buried under TiO₂ and a plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer-like interaction between g-C₃N₄ quantum dots (CNQDs) and AuNPs, solved four major problems associated with plasmonic photoelectrocatalysis─it reduced recombination by limiting eliminating direct electrolyte access to AuNPs, it facilitated electron extraction through single-crystal TiO₂ nanorod percolation pathways, it facilitated hole extraction through a defective TiO₂ seed layer or canopy, and it expanded the range of visible light harvesting by pumping the Au surface plasmons from CNQDs through exciton-to-plasmon resonant energy transfer.

Robust Polymer Nanocomposite Membranes Incorporating Discrete TiO2 Nanotubes for Water Treatment

Polyethersulfone (PES) is a polymeric permeable material used in ultrafiltration (UF) membranes due to its high thermomechanical and chemical stability. The hydrophobic nature of PES membranes renders them prone to fouling and restricts the practical applications of PES in the fabrication of water treatment membranes. The present study demonstrates a non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) approach to modifying PES membranes with different concentrations of discrete TiO₂ nanotubes (TNTs). Zeta potential and contact angle measurements showed enhanced hydrophilicity and surface negative charge in TNTs/PES nanocomposite membranes compared to unmodified PES membranes. To discern the antifouling and permeation properties of the TNTs/PES membranes, steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) wastewater obtained from the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta was used. The TiO₂ modified polymer nanocomposite membranes resulted in a higher organic matter rejection and water flux than the unmodified PES membrane. The addition of discrete TNTs at 1 wt% afforded maximum water flux (82 L/m² h at 40 psi), organic matter rejection (53.9%), and antifouling properties (29% improvement in comparison to pristine PES membrane). An enhancement in fouling resistance of TNTs/PES nanocomposite membranes was observed in flux recovery ratio experiments.

An enhanced enzymatic reaction using a triphase system based on superhydrophobic mesoporous nanowire arrays

Gaseous reactants play a key role in a wide range of biocatalytic reactions, however reaction kinetics are generally limited by the slow mass transport of gases (typically oxygen) in or through aqueous solutions. Inspired by the morphologies of natural non-wetting surfaces, herein we address this limitation by developing a triphase reaction system possessing a triphase gas-solid-liquid interface. As a proof of concept, we study the kinetics of glucose oxidase (GOx) catalyzed reactions using a triphase system fabricated by layering GOx upon superhydrophobic mesoporous ZnO nanowire arrays through which oxygen, needed for the enzymatic reaction, is supplied directly from the atmosphere to the liquid-solid interface. We find that the enzymatic reaction rate is enhanced by a factor of 30 over that obtained from a conventional diphase system where oxygen is supplied through and from the liquid. The triphase system offers the opportunity to develop high performance bioassay systems, serving as an enabling platform for addressing challenges posed by gas-deficit kinetics.

Resistance of Superhydrophobic Surface-Functionalized TiO₂ Nanotubes to Corrosion and Intense Cavitation

The availability of robust superhydrophobic materials with the ability to withstand harsh environments are in high demand for many applications. In this study, we have presented a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic materials from TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and investigated the resilience of the materials when they are subjected to harsh conditions such as intense cavitation upon ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, water-jet impact, and abrasion. The TNTAs were prepared by anodization of Ti foil in buffered aqueous electrolyte containing fluoride ions. The hydrophilic TNTAs were functionalized with octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) or 1H, 1H′, 2H, 2H′-perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA) to form a self-assembled monolayer on the TNTA surface to produce superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA or PFDPA@TNTA surfaces. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA have contact angles of 156.0° ± 1.5° and 168° ± 1.5°, and contact angle hysteresis of 3.0° and 0.8°, respectively. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA were subjected to ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, and water-jet impact and abrasion, and the resilience of the systems was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), contact angle (CA) measurements, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results presented here show that superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA are robust and resilient under the harsh conditions studied in this work, and indicate the potential of these materials to be deployed in practical applications.

Optical anisotropy in vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays

Nanofabricated optically anisotropic uniaxial thin films with deep submicron feature sizes are emerging as potential platforms for low-loss all-dielectric metamaterials, and for Dyakonov surface wave-based subwavelength optical confinement and guiding at interfaces with isotropic media. In this context, we investigate the optical properties of one such uniaxial platform, namely self-organized titania nanotube arrays (TNTAs) grown by the bottom-up nanofabrication process of electrochemical anodization on silicon wafer substrates, and subsequently annealed at different temperatures, i.e. 500 °C and 750 °C. We performed detailed quantitative analysis of the structure of the TNTAs using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, which revealed a measurable phonon confinement in TNTAs annealed at 500 °C. Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to investigate the optical anisotropy in two kinds of TNTAs-those constituted by anatase-phase and those containing a mixture of anatase and rutile phases. Both kinds of TNTAs were found to have positive birefringence (Δn) exceeding 0.06 in the spectral region of interest while mixed phase TNTAs exhibited Δn as high as 0.15. The experimentally measured anisotropy in the refractive index of the TNTAs was compared with the predictions of two different effective medium approximations incorporating the uniaxial geometry. The measured value of Δn for TNTAs exceeded that of bulk anatase single crystals, indicating the potential of nanostructured dielectrics to outperform dielectric crystals of the same material with respect to the magnitude of the achievable directional refractive index contrast.

Wetting characteristics of underwater micro-patterned surfaces

Wetting phenomena of underwater systems do not always follow the classical Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter configurations.

Effect of phosphonate monolayer adsorbate on the microwave photoresponse of TiO2 nanotube membranes mounted on a planar double ring resonator

In this study, the effects of a phosphonate molecular monolayer adsorbed on the surface of a free-standing self-organized TiO2 nanotube membrane, on the microwave photoresponse of the membrane are presented. This phenomenon is monitored using planar microwave sensors. A double ring resonator is utilized to monitor the permittivity and conductivity variation on the monolayer coated membrane and the sensor environment separately. It is shown that the rise time and subsequent decay of the amplitude (A), resonance frequency (f 0) and quality factor (Q) of the resonator depend on the existence and the type of the monolayer coating the membrane. Three different monolayers of n-decylphosphonic acid (DPA), 1H, 1H', 2H, 2H'-perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA) and 16-phosphonohexadecanoic acid adsorbed on the titania nanotube membrane are investigated while monitoring their microwave properties during the illumination time period and in the relaxation period, which demonstrate different behavior in comparison to each other and to the bare nanotube membrane layer. The effect of humidity on the TiO2 nanotube membrane with and without different monolayers is also studied and the results demonstrate distinguishable microwave responses. While each of the monolayer-coated membranes exhibited an attenuation of the photo-induced change in A, f 0 and Q with respect to the bare membrane, PFDPA-coated membranes showed the smallest relative change in the monitored microwave parameters upon ultraviolet illumination and upon the introduction of different levels of humidity. These effects are explained on the basis of surface trap passivation by the monolayers as well as the hydrophobicity of the monolayers. Our work also shows how the interactions of self-assembled monolayers with charge carriers and surface states on metal oxides may be used to indirectly sense their presence through measurement of the microwave response.

Recent Advances in TiO2 -Based Nanostructured Surfaces with Controllable Wettability and Adhesion

Bioinspired surfaces with special wettability and adhesion have attracted great interest in both fundamental research and industry applications. Various kinds of special wetting surfaces have been constructed by adjusting the topographical structure and chemical composition. Here, recent progress of the artificial superhydrophobic surfaces with high contrast in solid/liquid adhesion has been reviewed, with a focus on the bioinspired construction and applications of one-dimensional (1D) TiO2-based surfaces. In addition, the significant applications related to artificial super-wetting/antiwetting TiO2-based structure surfaces with controllable adhesion are summarized, e.g., self-cleaning, friction reduction, anti-fogging/icing, microfluidic manipulation, fog/water collection, oil/water separation, anti-bioadhesion, and micro-templates for patterning. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of this renascent and rapidly developing field, especially with regard to 1D TiO2-based surfaces with special wettability and adhesion, are proposed and discussed.

A high performance three-phase enzyme electrode based on superhydrophobic mesoporous silicon nanowire arrays for glucose detection

We describe here a high performance oxygen-rich three-phase enzyme electrode based on superhydrophobic mesoporous silicon nanowire arrays for glucose detection. We demonstrate that its linear detection upper limit is 30 mM, more than 15 times higher than that can be obtained on the normal enzyme-electrode. Notably, the three-phase enzyme electrode output is insensitive to the significant oxygen level fluctuation in analyte solution.

Rutile phase n- and p-type anodic titania nanotube arrays with square-shaped pore morphologies

Rutile-phase TiO2 nanotube arrays without broken walls were formed by annealing of anodically formed nanotubes in a propane flame at 650 °C and in air at 750 °C. An unusual morphological transformation was observed from the ellipsoidal pore-shapes of titania nanotubes grown in aqueous electrolyte to a square-shaped pore structure subsequent to the anneals. 750 °C annealed nanotubes were found to be lightly p-type, rare in TiO2.

Titania nanostructures: a biomedical perspective

A systematic and comprehensive summary of various TNS-based biomedical research with a special emphasis on drug-delivery, tissue engineering, biosensor, and anti-bacterial applications.