Corrosion, antibacterial activity and haemocompatibility of TiO2 nanotubes as a function of their annealing temperature

The present work reports on the corrosion behavior and antibacterial activity of self-organized TiO2 nano tubes in dependence of annealing temperature. TiO2 nanotubes are grown by anodic oxidation of Ti and are further annealed (350-750 degrees C). Besides the morphological and compositional changes due to annealing, the corrosion resistance and antibacterial activity are significantly improved. Namely, antibacterial activity of 650 degrees C and 750 degrees C annealed nanotubes shows the best results for Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with 40% and 80% increase in the growth inhibition index, respectively. Furthermore, such nanostructures are non-haemolytic and present enhanced haemocompatibility compared to amorphous or lower-temperature annealed nanotubes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.