Synthesis of nanofibrous chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2@TiO2 microspheres with enhanced biocompatibility and antibacterial property

Multifunctional materials have received considerable attention as they could integrate different functional components in one-single platform. In this study, novel chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2@TiO2 nanowire (NW) microspheres having extracellular matrix-like fibrous surface and photothermal antibacterial property were synthesized through in situ hydrothermal growth of TiO2 NWs on chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2 microspheres. It is found that the microspheres were spherical in morphology with a diameter of 100-300 mu m and exhibited a hierarchical and nanofibrous feature. Their surface was mainly constructed by numerous TiO2 NWs with a diameter of 20- 30nm. In vitro biological evaluation indicates that the chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2@TiO2 NW microspheres significantly enhanced attachment and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells compared with chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocomposite microspheres due to the presence of nanofibrous surface. Moreover, the microspheres showed photothermal antibacterial property to inhibit the growth of bacteria due to the presence of Fe3O4 component.

Automated summary

In this study, chitosan/Fe3O4/TiO2@TiO2 nanowire microspheres with extracellular matrix-like fibrous surface and photothermal antibacterial property were synthesized. The microspheres significantly enhanced the attachment and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and exhibited photothermal antibacterial activity due to the presence of nanofibrous surface and Fe3O4 component.