Development of Biocompatible Coatings with PVA/Gelatin Hydrogel Films on Vancomycin-Loaded Titania Nanotubes for Controllable Drug Release.

This study investigates the utilization of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/gelatin hydrogel films cross-linked with glutaraldehyde as a novel material to coat the surface of vancomycin-loaded titania nanotubes (TNTs), with a focus on enhancing biocompatibility and achieving controlled vancomycin release. Hydrogel films have emerged as promising candidates in tissue engineering and drug-delivery systems due to their versatile properties. The development of these hydrogel films involved varying the proportions of PVA, gelatin, and glutaraldehyde to achieve the desired properties, including the gel fraction, swelling behavior, biocompatibility, and biodegradation.

Titania Nanotube Architectures Synthesized on 3D-Printed Ti-6Al-4V Implant and Assessing Vancomycin Release Protocols.

The aim of this study is to synthesize Titania nanotubes (TNTs) on the 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V surface and investigate the loading of antibacterial vancomycin drug dose of 200 ppm for local drug treatment application for 24 h. The antibacterial drug release from synthesized nanotubes evaluated via the chemical surface measurement and the linear fitting of Korsmeyer-Peppas model was also assessed. The TNTs were synthesized on the Ti-6Al-4V surface through the anodization process at different anodization time.

Control of nanogeometry for advanced energy applications.

Incorporation of one-dimensional, large-surface-area, conductive nanofibers such as carbon nanotubes or 8 nm diameter TiO2 nanotubes into the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photo-anodes made of spherical TiO2 nanoparticles is shown to significantly improve the photocurrent density and the energy conversion efficiency. The observed DSSC solar cell efficiency enhancement in the presence of elongated nanoscale elements is attributed primarily to the reduction in microcracking tendency of the anode layer and associated robust electron transport, although some contributions of the electrical conducting nature of the filler material may also be possible. A use of metallic conduction paths such as embedded Ti-coated stainless steel mesh screen in the TiO2 anode layer is also described for enhanced photoanode constructions with a future possibility of FTO (fluorinated tin oxide)-glass-free DSSC.

Improved dye sensitized solar cell performance in larger cell size by using TiO₂ nanotubes.

Typical dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) exhibit a severe reduction of power conversion efficiency when the cell size is increased. In order to cope with this issue, we have investigated the use of anodized TiO(2) nanotubes on Ti foil in combination with the standard TiO(2) nanoparticle paste coated anode structure. The presence of nanotubes in the anode structure enabled a significant mitigation of the size-dependent deterioration of the DSSC performance, with a trend of much milder decrease of the efficiency as a function of the cell dimension up to 9 cm(2).

Extreme superomniphobicity of multiwalled 8 nm TiO2 nanotubes.

We report unprecedented superomniphobic characteristics of nanotube-structured TiO(2) surface fabricated by electrochemical etching and hydrothermal synthesis process, with the wettability contact angles for water and oil both being ∼174° or higher. A tangled forest of ∼8-nm-diameter, multiwalled nanotubes of TiO(2) was produced on the microtextured Ti surface, with the overall nanotube length controlled to 150 nm by adjusting the processing time. Wettability measurements indicate that the nanotube surface is extremely nonwettable to both water and oil.