Microwave Treatment of Calcium Phosphate/Titanium Dioxide Composite to Improve Protein Adsorption

Calcium phosphate has attracted enormous attention as a bone regenerative material in biomedical fields. In this study, we investigated the effect of microwave treatment on calcium phosphate deposited TiO₂ nanoflower to improve protein adsorption. Hierarchical rutile TiO₂ nanoflowers (TiNF) fabricated by a hydrothermal method were soaked in modified simulated body fluid for 3 days to induce calcium phosphate (CAP) formation, followed by exposure to microwave radiation (MW). Coating the dental implants with CAP/TiNF provides a means of improving the biological properties, as the structure, morphology, and thickness of the composites can be controlled. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The composites were identified to be composed of aggregated nano-sized particles with sphere-like shapes, and the calcium phosphate demonstrated low crystallinity. The ability of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to adsorb on MW-treated CAP/TiNF composites was studied as a function of BSA concentration. The Sips isotherm was used to analyze the BSA adsorption on MW-treated CAP/TiNF composites. The MW-treated samples showed high protein adsorption capacity, thereby indicating their potential in various biomedical applications.