Multifunctional Nanowire Bioscaffolds on Titanium

This paper reports a new fabrication of multifunctional nanowire bioscaffolds directly on titanium (Ti) through a simple and scale-up easy hydrothermal reaction of alkali with the Ti metal without using any seeds, templates, TiO2 powder, or stabilizers. The nanowires root firmly inside the Ti substrate and grow on top to eventually self-assemble into macroporous scaffolds. The effects of the alkali concentration, reaction time, and temperature on the bioscaffold morphologies were investigated. The novel solid-state chemistry for the nanowires' downward/upward co-growth and the accompanied self-assembly were tackled. Thus-formed coating of scaffolds on the metal implant surface, mimicking the natural extracellular matrix in structure, can promote cell adhesion and proliferation on Ti implant and perform controlled on-site drug release and photocatalytic sterilization.