Abstract
The prospective use of nanotechnology for medical devices is increasing. While the impact of material surface nanopatterning on the biological response is convincing, creating a large surface area with such nanotechnology remains an unmet challenge. In this paper, we describe, for the first time, a reproducible scale-up manufacturing technique for creating controlled nanotubes on the surfaces of Ti and Ti alloys. We describe an average of approximately 7.5-fold increase in cost and time efficiency with regards to the generation of 20, 50, and 100 nm diameter nanotubes using an anodisation technique. These novel materials have great potential in the medical field through their influence on cellular activity, in particular, protein absorption, focal adhesion, and osteoinduction. In this paper, we provide a step-by-step guide to optimise an anodisation system, starting with design rationale, proof of concept, device upscaling, consistency, and reproducibility check, followed by cost and efficiency analysis. We show that the optimised device can produce a high number of anodised specimens with customisable specimen shape at reduced cost and time, without compromising the repeatability and consistency. The device can fabricate highly uniform and vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube layer with desired pore diameters.
Highlights
Nanotubular films on titanium (Ti) and Ti alloys are used in a significant number of applications including biomedical devices [1,2,3,4], dye-sensitised solar cells [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12], and photocatalysis [13,14,15,16,17]
While designing the new anodisation device, the design rationales of the device setup were initially evaluated, followed by proof of concept data, leading to further upscale and optimisation. e design rationales included the following: (i) To create a scalable device design that was suitable for multiple specimens per batch of the anodisation process (ii) Maintain constant electrode distances for process control (iii) Ensure device setup that was compatible with the use of hydro uoric acid (HF)
A PTFE beaker was employed to contain the electrolyte as PTFE is resistant to HF, as compared with glass or other plastic materials like low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polymethylpentene (PMP), and styrene acrylonitrile (SAN)
Summary
Nanotubular films on titanium (Ti) and Ti alloys are used in a significant number of applications including biomedical devices [1,2,3,4], dye-sensitised solar cells [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12], and photocatalysis [13,14,15,16,17]. A wide range of target applications have been reported regarding TiO2 nanotubes grown on Ti and its alloys, for instance, drug delivery [18,19,20], antibacterial [21,22,23], biosensors [24,25,26], and dental and bone implants [22, 27,28,29]. The production rate of such surfaces is slow and limited to the production of a single specimen at a time [33, 34], the rationale for an improved scale-up methodology was used that allows the rapid, reproducible production of specimens
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