Highly-ordered TiO 2 nanotubes decorated with Ag 2 O nanoparticles for improved biofunctionality of Ti6Al4V

Abstract The nanotubular arrays of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 NTs) have recently received considerable interest for fabrication of dental and orthopedic implants. However, their antibacterial activity requires substantial improvement for the potential infections minimization, without compromise of their biocompatibility. In this work, TiO 2 NTs were developed on Ti6Al4V substrates via anodization at a constant potential of 60 V for 60 min, followed by heat treatment at 500 °C for 90 min. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) was further employed to decorate silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag 2 O NPs) on the nanotubular edges. The results indicated that the highly-ordered TiO 2 NTs with decorated Ag 2 O NPs could promote the apatite formation and kill 100% of the Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) bacteria within 2 h. Moreover, proliferation of the human osteoblast cells (HOb) was continuously stimulated throughout culture on the Ag 2 O NPs-decorated TiO 2 NTs. The variation in the viability of HOb cells was statistically insignificant at differed cultivation intervals, indicating the negligible effect of the decorated Ag 2 O NPs on the osseointegration of these implant materials.