Titanium-Protein Interaction: Changes with Oxide Layer Thickness

Since titanium is being used for various biomedical applications requiring enhanced blood compatibility, which may be partly due to its extremely stable oxide layer, an attempt is made here to understand the effect of oxide layer thickness on protein adsorption. Different thickness of oxide layers have been coated on titanium foil using anodizing method and thickness of oxide layers deposited have been measured by an ellipsometer. Studies of competitive adsorption of proteins, using I ¹²⁵ labelled protein from a mixture of 25 mg% albumin, 15 mg% γ-globulin and 7.5 mg% fibrinogen indicate an increased adsorption of proteins onto the oxide layer coated surfaces compared to the bare surface.