Fabrication of selenium-deposited and chitosan-coated titania nanotubes with anticancer and antibacterial properties

To exploit titanium materials with anticancer and antibacterial properties, TiO(2) nanotubes arrays as nanoreservoirs for deposition of selenium were generated onto titanium substrates and then covered with chitosan layer. The deposition of selenium in TiO(2) nanotubes was performed with electrodeposition. The physical properties (surface morphologies, chemical compositions and wettability) of the substrates were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and contact angle measurement, respectively. The growth behaviors of both healthy osteoblasts and cancerous osteoblasts on the substrates were investigated in vitro. The selenium-deposited and chitosan-coated TiO(2) nanotubes substrates (TiO(2) nanotubes-Se-Chi) demonstrated great potential for promoting the proliferation of healthy osteoblasts and inhibiting the growth of cancerous osteoblasts. Meanwhile, the TiO(2) nanotubes-Se-Chi substrates displayed a sustained release of selenium for 21 days. The antibacterial properties of the prepared substrates were evaluated with Escherichia coli (E. coli). The result showed that TiO(2) nanotubes-Se-Chi substrates had long term antibacterial capacity. The approach in this study provides an alternative to fabricate anticancer and antibacterial titanium-based implants for potential clinical application.