Surface characterization of titanium and adsorption of bovine serum albumin

Abstract

The surface oxide films on titanium were characterized and the relationship between the characterization and the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on titanium was studied. The surface oxide films on titanium were obtained by heat-treatment in different oxidizing atmospheres, such as air and water vapor. The surface roughness, energy, morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure were used to characterize the titanium surfaces. The characterization was performed using a profilometer, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), a sessile drop method, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Percentages of surface hydroxyl groups were determined by XPS analysis for the titanium plates and the densities were measured by a chemical method for titanium powders. After heat-treatment, the titanium surfaces were uniformly roughened and the surface titanium oxide was predominantly rutile TiO 2. The crystal planes in the rutile films were preferentially orientated in the (110) plane with the highest density of titanium ions. Heat-treatment increased the surface energy and the amount of surface hydroxyl groups on the titanium. The different oxidizing atmospheres resulted in different percentages of oxygen species in the TiO 2, in the physisorbed water and acidic hydroxyl groups and in the basic hydroxyl groups on the titanium surfaces. The analysis for the adsorption of BSA on titanium confirmed that the surface characterization of titanium has a strong effect on the bioactivity of titanium. The BSA chemically adsorbed onto the titanium surfaces. The adsorption of BSA on the titanium surfaces was positively related with the amounts of their surface hydroxyl groups, including basic hydroxyl groups and acidic hydroxyl groups, and the values of the polar component of the total surface energy.