TiO2/ZnO composite nanodots films and their cellular responses

Abstract

In the present study, TiO2/ZnO composite nanodot films were prepared and the effects of Zn incorporation on light-induced cell detachment were investigated. The nanodots films, which were successfully synthesized by phase-separation-induced self-assembly method, were characterized on the morphology, composition, microstructure, and other properties, and evaluated on cell compatibility and cell detachment performances as well. Live-dead staining was used to study the viability of cell sheet detached by light illumination. Results shows that with the increasing of introduced Zn, the band gap widened and the absorbance in UV region increased, while the crystallinity and performance of light-induced hydrophilicity weakened. All the nanodots films showed good cell compatibility and cell detachment performance induced by light. The nanodots film which had a Zn/Ti molar ratio of 0.03 showed the highest detachment ratio of 91.0% after 20 min ultraviolet illumination. The prepared TiO2/ZnO composite nanodots films could be helpful in optimizing light-induced cell detachment behavior.