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, TiO 2 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.